Microfluidic plasmas: Novel technique for chemistry and chemical engineering

Liangliang Lin (Corresponding author), Hue Quoc Pho, Lu Zong, Sirui Li, Nima Pourali, Evgeny Rebrov, Nam Nghiep Tran, Kostya (Ken) Ostrikov, Volker Hessel (Corresponding author)

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

70 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

As an emerging technology that features the integration of microfluidics and non-equilibrium plasmas, microfluidic plasmas not only allow the precise and effective matter and heat transport via the microfluidic system, but also provide an extremely reactive medium full of high energy plasma-generated species. Therefore, they could open new pathways for chemical synthesis or chemical engineering processes that are hardly achievable by conventional methods. In this review, three main microfluidic plasma configurations are reviewed, including plasmas confined within microchannels, plasma jets beyond microchannels and microfluidic plasma arrays. The state-of-the-art diagnostic techniques for characterizing the microfluidic plasma are also examined. A broad range of applications of microfluidic plasmas of particular interest to chemistry and chemical engineering, such as nanomaterials fabrication, surface modification, chemical synthesis, environmental application, and micro total analysis systems, are discussed. The research gaps, bottlenecks and future perspectives of this novel technology are presented.

Original languageEnglish
Article number129355
Number of pages16
JournalChemical Engineering Journal
Volume417
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Aug 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors greatly appreciate the funding support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (52004102, 22078125) and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK20190605). The authors also acknowledge support from the ERC Synergy Grant “Surface-Confined fast modulated plasma for process and energy intensification” (SCOPE) from the European Commission with the Grant No. 810182 as well as the Australian Research Council for partial support.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier B.V.

Copyright:
Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Microfluidic plasma
  • Microfluidics
  • Microplasma
  • Microreactors
  • Non-thermal plasma

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