Reconfigurable(4, 6^(2)) and(4, 8^(2)) Archimedean plasma photonic crystals in dielectric barrier discharge

Archimedean photonic crystal has become a research area of great interest due to its various unique properties. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the realization of reconfigurable(4, 6^(2))and(4, 8^(2)) Archimedean plasma photonic crystals(APPCs) by use of dielectric barrier discharges in air. Dynamical control on both the macrostructures including the lattice symmetry and the crystal orientation, and the microstructures including the fine structures of scattering elements has been achieved. The formation mechanisms of APPCs are studied by time-resolved measurements together with numerical simulations. Large omnidirectional band gaps of APPCs have been obtained. The tunable topology of APPCs may offer new opportunities for fabricating multi-functional and highly-integrated microwave devices.

On the evolution and formation of discharge morphology in pulsed dielectric barrier discharge

The discharge morphology of pulsed dielectric barrier discharge(PDBD) plays important roles in its applications. Here, we systematically investigated the effects of the voltage amplitude,discharge gap, and O_(2)content on the PDBD morphology, and revealed the possible underlying mechanism of the U-shaped formation. First, the morphological evolution under different conditions was recorded. A unique U-shaped region appears in the middle edge region when the gap is larger than 2 mm, while the entire discharge region remains columnar under a 2 mm gap in He PDBD. The width of the discharge and the U-shaped region increase with the increase in voltage, and decrease with the increase of the gap and O_(2)content. To explain this phenomenon,a two-dimensional symmetric model was developed to simulate the spatiotemporal evolution of different species and calculate the electric thrust. The discharge morphology evolution directly corresponds to the excited-state atomic reduction process. The electric thrust on the charged particles mainly determines the reaction region and strongly influences the U-shaped formation.When the gap is less than 2 mm, the electric thrust is homogeneous throughout the entire region,resulting in a columnar shape. However, when the gap is larger than 2 mm or O_(2)is added, the electric thrust in the edge region becomes greater than that in the middle, leading to the U-shaped formation. Furthermore, in He PDBD, the charged particles generating electric thrust are mainly electrons and helium ions, while in He/O_(2)PDBD those that generate electric thrust at the outer edge of the electrode surface are mainly various oxygen-containing ions.

Formation mechanism of bright and dark concentric-ring pattern in dielectric barrier discharge

In this work,a bright and dark concentric-ring pattern is reported in a dielectric barrier discharge for the first time.The spatiotemporal dynamics of the bright and dark concentric-ring pattern are investigated with an intensified charge-coupled device and photomultiplier tubes.The results indicate that the bright and dark concentric-ring pattern is composed of three concentric-ring sublattices.These are bright concentric-ring structures,dark concentric-ring structures and wider concentric-ring structures,respectively.The bright concentric-ring structures and dark concentricring structures are alternately distributed.The bright concentric-ring structures are located at the centre of the wider concentric-ring structures.The wider concentric-ring structures first form from the outer edge and gradually develop to the centre.The essence of all three concentric-ring structures is the individual discharge filaments.The optical emission spectra of different sublattices are acquired and analysed.It is found that the plasma parameters of the three concentricring sublattices are different.Finally,the formation mechanism of the bright and dark concentricring pattern is discussed.

Improving the energy efficiency of surface dielectric barrier discharge devices for plasma nitric oxide conversion utilizing active flow control

Improving energy efficiency in plasma NO removal is a critical issue.When the surface dielectric barrier discharge(SDBD)device is considered as a combination of multiple plasma actuators,the induced plasma aerodynamic effect cannot be ignored,which can affect the mass transfer,then affect the chemical reactions.Five SDBD devices with different electrode arrangements are studied for NO conversion.They correspond to different flow patterns.We find that the energy efficiency in an SDBD device with a common structure(Type 1)is 28%lower than that in SDBD devices with a special arrangement(Types 2–5).Two reasons may explain the results.First,fewer active species are produced in Type 1 because the development of discharge is hindered by the mutually exclusive electric field forces caused by the symmetrically distributed charged particles.Second,the plasma wind induced by the plasma actuator can enhance the mass and heat transfer.The mixing of reactants and products is better in Types 2–5 than Type 1 due to higher turbulence kinetic energy.

Degradation of sulfamethoxazole in water by dielectric barrier discharge plasma jet:influencing parameters,degradation pathway,toxicity evaluation

Sulfamethoxazole(SMX)is an antibiotic and widely present in aquatic environments,so it presents a serious threat to human health and sustainable development.A dielectric barrier discharge(DBD)plasma jet was utilized to degrade aqueous SMX,and the effects of various operating parameters(working gas,discharge power,etc)on SMX degradation performance were studied.The experimental results showed that the DBD plasma jet can obtain a relatively high degradation efficiency for SMX when the discharge power is high with an oxygen atmosphere,the initial concentration of SMX is low,and the aqueous solution is under acidic conditions.The reactive species produced in the liquid phase were detected,and OH radicals and O3were found to play a significant role in the degradation of SMX.Moreover,the process of SMX degradation could be better fitted by the quasi-first-order reaction kinetic equation.The analysis of the SMX degradation process indicated that SMX was gradually decomposed and 4-amino benzene sulfonic acid,benzene sulfonamide,4-nitro SMX,and phenylsulfinyl acid were detected,and thus three possible degradation pathways were finally proposed.The mineralization degree of SMX reached 90.04%after plasma treatment for 20 min,and the toxicity of the solution fluctuated with the discharge time but eventually decreased.

Rotor performance enhancement by alternating current dielectric barrier discharge plasma actuation

An experimental system was established to explore the plasma flow control effect for helicopter rotors in hover mode.With the plasma actuator applied at the leading edge of the rotor blades,alternating current dielectric barrier discharge(AC-DBD) plasma actuation was generated by a sinusoidal AC high-voltage generator.By direct force measurement,the influence of actuation parameters on the aerodynamic performance of the rotor was investigated at a tip Reynolds number of 1.7 × 105.AC-DBD actuation can delay the blade stall to more than 3° with a 20%increase of about in the thrust coefficient at the post-stall pitch.At a constant motor power driving the rotor,AC-DBD actuation could reduce the rotor’s torque at the stalled pitch and increase the rotational speed of the rotor.Also,AC-DBD actuation could maintain a relatively high hover efficiency of the rotor at large collective pitches.In a wide range of actuation parameters,AC-DBD plasma actuation could improve the rotor’s aerodynamic performance at large blade pitches.High-speed photography of the tuft motion on the blade’s upper surface showed that AC-DBD plasma actuation could promote the reattachment of the blade’s separation flow.

Controllable and tunable plasma photonic crystals through a combination of photonic crystal and dielectric barrier discharge patterns

We report five types of patterns with square symmetry,including three novel types obtained by inserting a specially designed grid photonic crystal(PC)into a dielectric barrier discharge system.They are studied using an intensified charge-coupled device camera and photomultiplier tubes.The three novel types of patterns are a square pattern with one structure,a square superlattice pattern with four sublattices and a(1/4)K_(grid)(K_(grid)is the basic wave vector of the grid),and another square pattern with a complex inversion discharge sequence.From the application viewpoint,the five types of patterns can be used as plasma photonic crystals(PPCs).Their band diagrams under a transverse-magnetic wave simulated by the finite element method show that there are a large number of band gaps.Compared with the original PC with only a unidirectional band gap,the five types of PPCs have tunable and omnidirectional band gaps,which is very important in controlling the propagation of electromagnetic waves in the mm-wave region.The experimental results enrich the pattern types in the dielectric barrier discharge system and provide a method for obtaining PPCs with symmetry controllability and bandgap tunability.

Plasma-Catalytic Decomposition of 2,4-Dichlorophenol in a Dielectric Barrier Discharge with a Vermiculite ZiO2 Composite

The paper presents comparative kinetic characteristics of the decomposition of 2,4-dichlorophenol in a dielectric barrier discharge and a combined plasma-catalytic process. Vermiculite containing 5% zirconium was used as a catalyst. The destruction processes of 2,4-DCP proceed efficiently, the degree of decomposition increases in the combined plasma-catalytic process by a factor of 1.33 and reaches 80%. The experimental results were processed according to the first-order kinetic law (R2 > 0.97), according to which the effective constants (0.36 ± 0.04) and (0.51 ± 0.03) s-1 and the decomposition rates of 2,4-DCP (106 and 123 μmol/l·s) when treating model solutions without a catalyst and with vermiculite + Zr 5%, respectively, and the energy costs are 0.012 and 0.017 molecules/100eV. The main decomposition products present in the solution have been determined to be carboxylic acids, aldehydes, the contribution of which does not exceed 2%, as well as chloride ions, and in the gas phase they are carbon dioxide and molecular chlorine (the share of which does not exceed 1.5% of total chlorine content in the system).

Experimental Study on Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Actuator with Different Encapsulated Electrode Widths for Airflow Control at Atmospheric Pressure

The surface dielectric barrier discharge （SDBD） plasma actuator has shown great promise as an aerodynamic flow control device. In this paper, the encapsulated electrode width of a SDBD actuator is changed to study the airflow acceleration behavior. The effects of encapsulated electrode width on the actuator performance are experimentally investigated by measuring the dielectric layer surface potential, time-averaged ionic wind velocity and thrust force. Experimental results show that the airflow velocity and thrust force increase with the encapsulated electrode width. The results can be attributed to the distinct plasma distribution at different encapsulated electrode widths.

NaCl aqueous solution as a novel electrode in a dielectric barrier discharge reactor for highly efficient ozone generation

Ozone(O_(3)) generated by a dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) is widely used in various industrial processes. In this study, NaCl aqueous solution was used as a novel electric power transmission electrode in a DBD reactor(instead of a traditional metal electrode) for highly efficient ozone generation. The results demonstrated that a high O_(3) yield of 242 g k Wh^(-1) with a concentration of 14.6 g m^(-3)O_(3) was achieved. The power transmission mechanism works because NaCl aqueous solution behaves as a capacitor when an alternating pulse voltage below 8 k Hz is used.Compared with the resistance of the discharge barrier and discharge space, the resistance of NaCl aqueous solution can be ignored, which ensures that O_(3) is generated efficiently. It is expected that O_(3) generation using NaCl aqueous solution as a novel electrode in a DBD reactor could be an alternative technology with good application prospects.

Improved Ethanol Production from Xylose by Candida shehatae Induced by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Air Plasma

Xylose fermentation is essential for ethanol production from lignocellulosic biomass. Exposure of the xylose-fermenting yeast Candida shehatae （C. shehatae） CICC1766 to atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge （DBD） air plasma yields a clone （designated as C81015） with stability, which exhibits a higher ethanol fermentation rate from xylose, giving a maximal enhancement in ethanol production of 36.2% compared to the control （untreated）. However, the biomass production of C81015 is lower than that of the control. Analysis of the NADH （nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide）- and NADPH （nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate）- linked xylose reductases and NAD＋-linked xylitol dehydrogenase indicates that their activities are enhanced by 34.1%, 61.5% and 66.3%, respectively, suggesting that the activities of these three enzymes are responsible for improving ethanol fermentation in C81015 with xylose as a substrate. The results of this study show that DBD air plasma could serve as a novel and effective means of generating microbial strains that can better use xylose for ethanol fermentation.

Integrated design and performance optimization of three-electrode sliding discharge plasma power supply

The three-electrode sliding dielectric barrier discharge(TES-DBD) plasma actuator significantly enhances the ionization rate and momentum exchange between charged particles and neutral particles by incorporating a parallel DC electrode into the standard DBD design. This design improves the body force and induced jet velocity while allowing flexible control of the induced jet angle, overcoming the limitations of discharge extension and uncontrollable direction in traditional DBD plasma actuators. An integrated plasma power supply has been designed specifically for TES-DBD plasma actuators, streamlining the power supply management. The methodology involves designing the circuit topology for the TES-DBD power supply, followed by simulating and validating its operating principles using Multisim software. The operational performance of the power supply is evaluated through a comprehensive analysis of its electrical,thermal, and aerodynamic properties specific to TES-DBD plasma actuation.

Toluene removal characteristics by a superimposed wire-plate dielectric barrier discharge plasma reactor

A superimposed wire-plate dielectric barrier discharge reactor was used to remove toluene in this study. The effects of oxygen content, gas flow rate, gas initial concentration and with/without catalyst on toluene decomposition were investigated. It was found that an optimal toluene removal was achieved when the oxygen content was about 5%. Under this condition, the highest toluene removal efficiency of 80.8% was achieved when the gas concentration was 80 mg/m^3. The toluene removal efficiency decreased with the increase of the gas flow rate and the initial concentration of toluene. In addition, the ozone concentration decreased with the increase of the initial concentration of toluene. It suggested that combining DBD （dielectric barrier discharge） with Co3O4/Al2O3/foam nickel catalyst in-situ could improve the toluene removal efficiency and suppress ozone formation. Products analysis showed that the main products were CO and CO2 when oxygen was more than 5%.

Preparation of N‐vacancy‐doped g‐C_3N_4 with outstanding photocatalytic H_2O_2 production ability by dielectric barrier discharge plasma treatment

Dielectric barrier discharge（DBD） plasma is considered to be a promising method to synthesize solid catalysts. In this work, DBD plasma was used to synthesize a nitrogen‐vacancy‐doped g‐C3N4 catalyst in situ for the first time. X‐ray diffraction, N2 adsorption, ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectrosco‐py, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance, O2 tempera‐ture‐programmed desorption, and photoluminescence were used to characterize the obtained cat‐alysts. The photocatalytic H2O2 production ability of the as‐prepared catalyst was investigated. The results show that plasma treatment influences the morphology, structure, and optical properties of the as‐prepared catalyst. Nitrogen vacancies are active centers, which can adsorb reactant oxygen molecules, trap photoelectrons, and promote the transfer of photoelectrons from the catalyst to the adsorbed oxygen molecules for the subsequent reduction reaction. This work provides a new strat‐egy for synthesizing g‐C3N4‐based catalysts.

Study of Humidity Effect on Benzene Decomposition by the Dielectric Barrier Discharge Nonthermal Plasma Reactor

The humidity effects on the benzene decomposition process were investigated by the dielectric barrier discharge（DBD） plasma reactor.The results showed that the water vapor played an important role in the benzene oxidation process.It was found that there was an optimum humidity value for the benzene removal efficiency,and at around 60% relative humidity（RH）,the optimum benzene removal efficiency was achieved.At a SIE of 378 J/L,the removal efficiency was 66% at 0% RH,while the removal efficiency reached 75.3% at 60% RH and dropped to 69% at 80% RH.Furthermore,the addition of water inhibited the formation of ozone and NO2 remarkably.Both of the concentrations of ozone and NO2 decreased with increasing of the RH at the same specific input energy.At a SIE of 256 J/L,the concentrations of ozone and NO2 were 5.4 mg/L and 1791 ppm under dry conditions,whereas they were only 3.4 mg/L and 1119 ppm at 63.5%RH,respectively.Finally,the outlet gas after benzene degradation was qualitatively analyzed by FT-IR and GC-MS to determine possible intermediate byproducts.The results suggested that the byproducts in decomposition of benzene primarily consisted of phenol and substitutions of phenol.Based on these byproducts a benzene degradation mechanism was proposed.

Surface Modification of Polyethylene (PE) Films Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma at Atmospheric Pressure

Modification of the surface properties of polyethylene （PE） films is studied using air dielectric barrier discharge at atmospheric pressure. The treated samples are examined by Water contact angle measurements, Fourier transform infrared attenuated total reflection spectroscopy （FTIR-ATR）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. With the increase in treating time, the water contact angle changes from 93.2° before treatment to a minimum of 53.3° after a treatment for 50 s. Both ATR and XPS results show some oxidized species are introduced into the sample surface by the plasma treatment and the tendency of the water contact angle with the treating time is the same as that of oxygen concentration on the treated sample surface. SEM result shows the surface roughness of PE samples increases with the treatment time increasing.

Conversion from Dimethyl Ether to Dimethoxymethane and Dimethoxyethane Using Dielectric-Barrier Discharge Plasma

Experimental investigation was conducted to convert dimethyl ether (DME) in the presence of steam using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure and 373 K. The flow rate of DME was 20 ml/min. The introduction of steam resulted in an increase in the DME conversion and the selectivity of oxygenates. Plasma steam-enhanced dimethyl ether (DME) conversion led to a direct synthesis of DMMT and DMET, with a high selectivity of 5.78% and 17.99%, respectively. The addition of steam promoted the formation of 'plasma aerosol' that was favored for the formation of liquid oxygenates. The reaction pathway of plasma DME conversion was proposed.

UAV flight test of plasma slats and ailerons with microsecond dielectric barrier discharge

Plasma flow control（PFC） is a promising active flow control method with its unique advantages including the absence of moving components, fast response, easy implementation, and stable operation. The effectiveness of plasma flow control by microsecond dielectric barrier discharge（μs-DBD）, and by nanosecond dielectric barrier discharge（NS-DBD） are compared through the wind tunnel tests, showing a similar performance between μs-DBD and NS-DBD. Furthermore, theμs-DBD is implemented on an unmanned aerial vehicle（UAV）, which is a scaled model of a newly developed amphibious plane. The wingspan of the model is 2.87 m, and the airspeed is no less than 30 m/s. The flight data, static pressure data,and Tufts images are recorded and analyzed in detail. Results of the flight test show that the μs-DBD works well on board without affecting the normal operation of the UAV model. When the actuators are turned on, the stall angle and maximum lift coefficient can be improved by 1.3° and 10.4%, and the static pressure at the leading edge of the wing can be reduced effectively in a proper range of angle of attack, which shows the ability of μs-DBD to act as plasma slats. The rolling moment produced by left-side μs-DBD actuation is greater than that produced by the maximum deflection of ailerons,which indicates the potential of μs-DBD to act as plasma ailerons. The results verify the feasibility and efficacy of μs-DBD plasma flow control in a real flight and lay the foundation for the full-sized airplane application.

Methane conversion into higher hydrocarbons with dielectric barrier discharge micro-plasma reactor

We reported a coaxial,micro-dielectric barrier discharge(micro-DBD)reactor and a conventional DBD reactor for the direct conversion of methane into higher hydrocarbons at atmospheric pressure.The effects of input power,residence time,discharge gap and external electrode length were investigated for methane conversion and product selectivity.We found the conversion of methane in a micro-DBD reactor was higher than that in a conventional DBD reactor.And at an input power of 25.0 W,the conversion of methane and the total C2+C3 selectivity reached 25.10% and 80.27%,respectively,with a micro-DBD reactor of 0.4 mm discharge gap.Finally,a nonlinear multiple regression model was used to study the correlations between both methane conversion and product selectivity and various system variables.The calculated data were obtained using SPSS 12.0 software.The regression analysis illustrated the correlations between system variables and both methane conversion and product selectivity.

Effects of Airflows on Dielectric Barrier Discharge in Air at Atmospheric Pressure

Effect of airflow on the dielectric barrier discharge in ambient air at atmospheric pressure is presented. The influence of airflow on the spatial distribution and intensity of a discharge were investigated experimentally. A critical frequency of 1 kHz was found. With the frequency above 1 kHz, when a fast airflow was introduced into the discharge gap, the discharge patterns varied from filaments to curved stripes and the curvature degree rose with an increase in the airflow speed. At the same time, the discharge intensity decreased. However with the discharge frequency below 1 kHz, the discharge intensity would get greater with an increase in the airflow speed.