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The Use of Non‐Equilibrium Plasmas for the Synthesis of Heterogeneous Catalysts
Author(s) -
Witvrouwen Toon,
Paulussen Sabine,
Sels Bert
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
plasma processes and polymers
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.644
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1612-8869
pISSN - 1612-8850
DOI - 10.1002/ppap.201200004
Subject(s) - catalysis , plasma , thermodynamic equilibrium , solvent , chemical engineering , materials science , chemical vapor deposition , reactivity (psychology) , nanotechnology , heterogeneous catalysis , chemical equilibrium , deposition (geology) , titanium dioxide , chemical stability , chemistry , organic chemistry , thermodynamics , composite material , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics , medicine , paleontology , alternative medicine , sediment , biology , engineering
A review of published works in the field of catalyst synthesis and treatment with the use of non‐equilibrium plasma techniques has been composed. Non‐equilibrium plasmas, also called low temperature plasmas, are known for their high reactivity (high electron temperature), while keeping the overall gas temperature low. Non‐equilibrium plasmas are often applied for dry surface modifications as an environment friendly alternative for solvent‐based techniques. In the field of heterogeneous catalysis, non‐equilibrium plasmas are most commonly used for the treatment of catalytically active surfaces. Such applications can result into highly dispersed catalysts with high activity and stability, such as photo‐catalytically active titanium dioxide films. Moreover, (non‐equilibrium) plasma‐assisted chemical vapor deposition can also be used for the synthesis of powder‐like materials used in heterogeneous catalysis for a wide range of applications, for example, ultrafine Fe 2 O 3 . The research field is still emerging, but already proves to be very promising, as will be shown in the review.