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Author Foumani, A.A.; Forster, D.J.; Ghorbanfekr, H.; Weber, R.; Graf, T.; Niknam, A.R. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Atomistic simulation of ultra-short pulsed laser ablation of metals with single and double pulses : an investigation of the re-deposition phenomenon Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Applied Surface Science Abbreviated Journal Appl Surf Sci  
  Volume 537 Issue Pages 147775  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The demand for higher throughput in the processing of materials with ultra-short pulsed lasers has motivated studies on the use of double pulses (DP). It has been observed in such studies that at relatively high time delays between the two pulses, the ablated volume is lower than that for a single pulse (SP). This has been attributed to the shielding of the second pulse and the re-deposition of the material removed by the first pulse. The investigation of re-deposition in copper with the aid of atomistic simulations is the main objective of this study. Nevertheless, a computational investigation of SP-ablation and experimental measurement of the SP-ablation depths and threshold fluence are also covered. The applied computational apparatus comprises a combination of molecular dynamics with the two-temperature model and the Helmholtz wave equation. The analysis of the simulation results shows that the derived quantities like the SP-ablation threshold fluence and the ratio of DP ablation depth to SP-ablation depth are in agreement with the experimental values. An important finding of this study is that the characteristics of the re-deposition process are highly dependent on the fluence.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000582798700006 Publication Date 2020-09-13  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0169-4332 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.387 Times cited 2 Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes ; The authors thank the Center for High-Performance Computing at Shahid Beheshti University of Iran (SARMAD) for making available the computational resources required for this work. ; Approved Most recent IF: 3.387  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:174299 Serial 6683  
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Author Kolev, S.; Paunska, T.; Trenchev, G.; Bogaerts, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Modeling the CO2 dissociation in pulsed atmospheric-pressure discharge Type P1 Proceeding
  Year 2020 Publication Technologies Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 012007  
  Keywords P1 Proceeding; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract CO2 dissociation and its subsequent conversion into added-value chemicals is a promising strategy for recycling CO2 gas into reusable products. One of the possible methods is direct plasma-induced dissociation. In this work we study the efficiency of CO2 dissociation in pulsed atmospheric-pressure gas discharge between two conducting electrodes by a 0-D numerical plasma model. The purpose of the study is to provide results on the optimal conditions of CO2 conversion with respect to the energy efficiency and dissociation by varying the maximum power density value and the pulse length. The power density is directly related to the discharge current and the reduced electric field in the discharge. We consider pulse lengths in the range from hundreds of nanosecond up to milliseconds. The results obtained show that the dissociation degree and energy efficiency are sensitive to the pulse length (duration) and the power density, so that a considerable improvement of the discharge performance can be achieved by fine-tuning these parameters. The study is intended to provide guidance in designing an experimental set-up and a power supply with the characteristics necessary to achieve optimal conversion.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000593712900007 Publication Date 2020-06-03  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume 1492 Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1742-6588; 1742-6596 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:174447 Serial 6769  
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Author Ranjbar, S. file  openurl
  Title Mathematical model of plasma therapy on bacterial growth Type Doctoral thesis
  Year 2020 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 95 p.  
  Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos Publication Date  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:175471 Serial 6768  
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Author Kaliyappan, P.; Paulus, A.; D’Haen, J.; Samyn, P.; Uytdenhouwen, Y.; Hafezkhiabani, N.; Bogaerts, A.; Meynen, V.; Elen, K.; Hardy, A.; Van Bael, M.K. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Probing the impact of material properties of core-shell SiO₂@TiO₂ spheres on the plasma-catalytic CO₂ dissociation using a packed bed DBD plasma reactor Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Co2 Utilization Abbreviated Journal J Co2 Util  
  Volume 46 Issue Pages 101468  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Plasma catalysis, a promising technology for conversion of CO2 into value-added chemicals near room temperature, is gaining increasing interest. A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma has attracted attention due to its simple design and operation at near ambient conditions, ease to implement catalysts in the plasma zone and upscaling ability to industrial applications. To improve its main drawbacks, being relatively low conversion and energy efficiency, a packing material is used in the plasma discharge zone of the reactor, sometimes decorated by a catalytic material. Nevertheless, the extent to which different properties of the packing material influence plasma performance is still largely unexplored and unknown. In this study, the particular effect of synthesis induced differences in the morphology of a TiO2 shell covering a SiO2 core packing material on the plasma conversion of CO2 is studied. TiO2 has been successfully deposited around 1.6–1.8 mm sized SiO2 spheres by means of spray coating, starting from aqueous citratoperoxotitanate(IV) precursors. Parameters such as concentration of the Ti(IV) precursor solutions and addition of a binder were found to affect the shells’ properties and surface morphology and to have a major impact on the CO2 conversion in a packed bed DBD plasma reactor. Core-shell SiO2@TiO2 obtained from 0.25 M citratoperoxotitante(IV) precursors with the addition of a LUDOX binder showed the highest CO2 conversion 37.7% (at a space time of 70 s corresponding to an energy efficiency of 2%) and the highest energy efficiency of 4.8% (at a space time of 2.5 s corresponding to a conversion of 3%).  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000634280300004 Publication Date 2021-02-15  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2212-9820 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.292 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.292  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:175958 Serial 6773  
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Author Guo, J.; Clima, S.; Pourtois, G.; Van Houdt, J. doi  openurl
  Title Identifying alternative ferroelectric materials beyond Hf(Zr)O-₂ Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Applied Physics Letters Abbreviated Journal Appl Phys Lett  
  Volume 117 Issue 26 Pages 262903  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract A database-driven approach combined with ab initio density functional theory (DFT) simulations is used to identify and simulate alternative ferroelectric materials beyond Hf(Zr)O-2. The database-driven screening method identifies a class of wurtzite ferroelectric materials. DFT simulations of wurtzite magnesium chalcogenides, including MgS, MgSe, and MgTe, show their potential to achieve improved ferroelectric (FE) stability, simple atomistic unit cell structure, and large FE polarization. Strain engineering can effectively modulate the FE switching barrier height for facilitating FE switching. The effect of the piezoelectric property on the FE switching barrier heights is also examined.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000608049700003 Publication Date 2020-12-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0003-6951; 1077-3118 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4 Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4; 2020 IF: 3.411  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:176053 Serial 6766  
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Author Wang, W.; Butterworth, T.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Plasma propagation in a single bead DBD reactor at different dielectric constants : insights from fluid modelling Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Physics D-Applied Physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 54 Issue 21 Pages 214004  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Packed bed dielectric barrier discharge (PB-DBD) plasma reactors are very promising for various plasma catalysis applications, but the exact mechanisms of plasma-catalyst interaction are far from understood, because the plasma discharge and catalyst/packing properties are mutually dependent. To better understand the effect of packing dielectric material on the electrical plasma properties, we study here a single bead DBD plasma reactor operating in dry air, with beads of different dielectric constant and for different applied voltages, by means of fluid modelling validated by optical imaging experiments. Our study reveals that the plasma in the single bead DBD reactor can manifest itself in two different modalities, i.e. (a) polar discharges at the bead poles in contact with the electrodes, and (b) a streamer discharge caused by surface ionization waves, which bridges the gas gap. Beads with high dielectric constant result in localised electric field enhancement and hence yield a reduction of the applied voltage required for plasma production. At low applied voltage, the discharge appears as polar discharges between the bead and the electrodes, and upon higher voltage it undergoes a transition into a bridging streamer discharge. The transition voltage to the streamer mode rises for beads with higher dielectric constant. These observations are important for plasma catalysis applications. A higher dielectric constant yields a higher electric field and thus higher average electron energy and density, giving rise to more reactive species, but it also yields a confined discharge near the contact points of packing beads, limiting the interaction area between the catalyst and the active plasma species. In addition, our model reveals that the dielectric bead behaves as a capacitor and traps charges, which can explain the significant occurrence of partial discharging in PB-DBDs and non-parallelogram shaped Lissajous plots. Hence, equivalent circuit modelling of PB-DBDs should take into account the role of packing beads in charge trapping as a capacitor.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000626451000001 Publication Date 2021-02-23  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:177571 Serial 6772  
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Author Liang, Y.-S.; Xue, C.; Zhang, Y.-R.; Wang, Y.-N. doi  openurl
  Title Investigation of active species in low-pressure capacitively coupled N-2/Ar plasmas Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Physics Of Plasmas Abbreviated Journal Phys Plasmas  
  Volume 28 Issue 1 Pages 013510  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract In this paper, a self-consistent fluid model is developed focusing on the plasma parameters in capacitively coupled 20% N 2-80% Ar discharges. Measurements of ion density are performed with the help of a floating double probe, and the emission intensities from Ar(4p) and N 2 ( B ) transitions are detected by an optical emission spectroscopy to estimate their relative densities. The consistency between the numerical and experimental results confirms the reliability of the simulation. Then the plasma characteristics, specifically the reaction mechanisms of active species, are analyzed under various voltages. The increasing voltage leads to a monotonous increase in species density, whereas a less homogeneous radial distribution is observed at a higher voltage. Due to the high concentration of Ar gas, Ar + becomes the main ion, followed by the N 2 +</mml:msubsup> ion. Besides the electron impact ionization of neutrals, the charge transfer processes of Ar +/ N 2 and N 2 +</mml:msubsup>/Ar are found to have an impact on the ionic species. The results indicate that adopting the lower charge transfer reaction rate coefficients weakens the Ar + ion density and yields a higher N 2 +</mml:msubsup> ion density. However, the effect on the species spatial distributions and other species densities is limited. As for the excited-state species, the electron impact excitation of background gases remains overwhelming in the formation of Ar(4p), N 2 ( B ), and N 2 ( a ' ), whereas the <mml:msub> N 2 ( A ) molecules are mainly formed by the decay of <mml:msub> N 2 ( B ). In addition, the dissociation of <mml:msub> N 2 collided by excited-state Ar atoms dominates the N generation, which are mostly depleted to produce N + ions.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000629931300002 Publication Date 2021-01-22  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1070-664x ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.115 Times cited Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.115  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:177669 Serial 6767  
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Author Kaushik, N.K.; Bekeschus, S.; Tanaka, H.; Lin, A.; Choi, E.H. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Plasma medicine technologies Type Editorial
  Year 2021 Publication Applied Sciences-Basel Abbreviated Journal Appl Sci-Basel  
  Volume 11 Issue 10 Pages 4584-4  
  Keywords Editorial; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract This Special Issue, entitled “Plasma Medicine Technologies”, covers the latest remarkable developments in the field of plasma bioscience and medicine. Plasma medicine is an interdisciplinary field that combines the principles of plasma physics, material science, bioscience, and medicine, towards the development of therapeutic strategies. A study on plasma medicine has yielded the development of new treatment opportunities in medical and dental sciences. An important aspect of this issue is the presentation of research underlying new therapeutic methods that are useful in medicine, dentistry, sterilization, and, in the current scenario, that challenge perspectives in biomedical sciences. This issue is focused on basic research on the characterization of the bioplasma sources applicable to living cells, especially to the human body, and fundamental research on the mutual interactions between bioplasma and organic–inorganic liquids, and bio or nanomaterials.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000662527200001 Publication Date 2021-05-18  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2076-3417 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 1.679 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 1.679  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:178139 Serial 6771  
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Author Van de Sompel, P.; Khalilov, U.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Contrasting H-etching to OH-etching in plasma-assisted nucleation of carbon nanotubes Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry C Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 125 Issue 14 Pages 7849-7855  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract To gain full control over the growth of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), a thorough understanding of the underlying plasma-catalyst mechanisms is required. Oxygen-containing species are often used as or added to the growth precursor gas, but these species also yield various radicals and ions, which may simultaneously etch the CNT during the growth. At present, the effect of these reactive species on the growth onset has not yet been thoroughly investigated. We here report on the etching mechanism of incipient CNT structures from OH and O radicals as derived from combined (reactive) molecular dynamics (MD) and force-bias Monte Carlo (tfMC) simulations. Our results indicate that the oxygen-containing radicals initiate a dissociation process. In particular, we show how the oxygen species weaken the interaction between the CNT and the nanocluster. As a result of this weakened interaction, the CNT closes off and dissociates from the cluster in the form of a fullerene. Beyond the specific systems studied in this work, these results are generically important in the context of PECVD-based growth of CNTs using oxygen-containing precursors.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000641307100032 Publication Date 2021-04-06  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447; 1932-7455 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:178393 Serial 7729  
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Author Cong, S. file  openurl
  Title Numerical study on low-pressure hollow cathode argon arc plasma Type Doctoral thesis
  Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages XIX, 126 p.  
  Keywords Doctoral thesis; Philosophy; Educational sciences; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The low-pressure hollow cathode discharge made of a hollow circular tube and an anode is a type of simple structure discharge system. In particular, under the arc discharge mode, hollow cathodes have high plasma density and energy density with a wide range of adaptability of pressure and current. Low-pressure hollow cathode arc (HCA) discharges have been widely used as plasma sources in various fields such as manufacturing, vacuum welding, and aerospace since the 1960s. Despite the early experimental and applied researches on low-pressure HCA discharges, the basic theoretical study was relatively lagged much behind, resulting in many unanswered questions, such as the optimal discharge operating parameters, the power deposition inside the cathode, the causes of plasma instability, and how to effectively reduce cathode erosion and so on. Due to the special discharge structure of the hollow cathode, it is difficult to make an accurate experimental diagnosis, so a reasonable numerical simulation is an effective study method. However, up to now, there is still a lack of complete and effective numerical models which can evaluate various physical fields in the low-pressure hollow cathode discharges. To address the above problems and difficulties, a comprehensive and self-consistent 2D multi-physical coupling numerical model based on a commercial program of finite element method, the COMSOL Multiphysics, was provided in this paper. The model involves plasma transport, arc flow and heat transfer, and cathode thermal equilibrium, and can consider the effect of an applied magnetic field. The processes of secondary electron emission, thermal-field electron emission, ions and backflow high-energy electrons bombardment, and thermal radiation from the cathode surface are considered in the cathode thermal equilibrium process. Based on the above background, this paper works from the following aspects: In Chapter 1, the basic concepts of low-pressure HCA discharge including the hollow cathode effect, the basic characteristics, and operation modes were introduced firstly; Secondly, the application fields, development history, and overseas and domestic research status of hollow cathode discharge were reviewed; finally, the problems were presented and the research background was explained, and the research purpose of this paper was clarified. In Chapter 2, a complete and self-consistent numerical model of low-pressure hollow cathode discharge was proposed based on the fundamental theory and assumptions, and the set of control equations and boundary conditions in the model were elaborated. In addition, the electron energy distribution function, the collision processes, the solving tools of this model, and calculation schemes were introduced in detail. Finally, a validation example was given to test the rationality and applicability of the numerical model. In Chapter 3, the fundamental plasma properties of low-pressure hollow cathode arcs were investigated. Firstly, the ion Joule heating effect was studied. The results showed that the temperature distributions of the arc and cathode are only able to approach the experimental measurements after considering the ion Joule heating, which shows that the Joule heating of ions is crucial for the heating of the arc plasma. Secondly, by comparing the radial distribution of electron and ion density inside the cathode, the structure of the cathode sheath could be simulated well using this model. Finally, it was shown that the thermal radiation from the cathode surface is an important cooling mechanism of the cathode and only under higher surface emissivity can balance the larger heat flow given by the plasma to the cathode, and the temperature distribution of the cathode shows a non-monotonic increasing trend and is consistent with the profile of experimental measurement so that the so-called active zone is formed. In Chapter 4, the power deposition in the low-pressure HCA was studied in simulation. Two main aspects were considered: the power deposition into particles (both electrons and heavy particles) and the power deposition onto the cathode. It was found that the deposited power into particles increases with the rise of discharge current, but there is no effect on the total power deposition onto the cathode. In high-density plasmas, Coulomb collisions between electrons and ions also become very important, especially since a portion of the deposition energy on heavy particles comes mainly from the energy transfer from electrons to ions. It was also found that regardless of external parameters, half of the power deposition onto the cathode always comes from the particle contribution, while the other half is the net contribution of heat transfer and cathode radiation. The HCA model also allows the simulation of multiple discharge modes for low-pressure HCA discharges over a wide range of gas flow rates. It was also shown that the discharge operating conditions and the external magnetic field can change the distribution of the particle flow on the cathode wall. In Chapter 5, the ion sputtering erosion process on the cathode was simulated by coupling the HCA numerical model with the moving grid technique. The results showed that the ion sputtering erosion on the cathode depends on the ion flux and the plasma potential near the cathode wall and that their distribution and magnitude jointly determine the erosion morphology of the cathode. It was also found that the location of the most severe erosion on the cathode is located in the region of the densest ion flux on the cathode wall, rather than in the longitudinal correspondence with the central region of the internal positive column (IPC). The external magnetic fields can mitigate the cathode erosion and reduce the erosion depth, but stronger magnetic fields lead to a concentration of current density at the cathode tip, which can enhance erosion slightly at the cathode outlet end. Finally, the conclusions and innovation highlights were summarized, and prospects for future work were discussed.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos Publication Date  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:178725 Serial 8323  
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Author Osella, S.; Knippenberg, S. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Laurdan as a molecular rotor in biological environments Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2019 Publication ACS applied bio materials Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 2 Issue 12 Pages 5769-5778  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Laurdan is one of the most used fluorescent probes for lipid membrane phase recognition. Despite its wide use for optical techniques and its versatility as a solvatochromic probe, little is known regarding its use as molecular rotor, for which clear evidence is found in the current study. Although recent computational and experimental studies suggest the existence of two stable conformations of laurdan in different membrane phases, it is difficult to experimentally probe their prevalence. By means of multiscale computational approaches, we prove now that this information can be obtained through the optical properties of the two conformers, ranging from one-photon absorption over two-photon absorption to the first hyperpolarizability. Fluorescence decay and anisotropy analyses are performed as well and stress the importance of laurdan's conformational versatility. As a molecular rotor and with reference to the distinct properties of its conformers, laurdan can be used to probe biochemical processes that change the lipid orders in cell membranes.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000616372300047 Publication Date 2019-11-22  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2576-6422 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved no  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:180356 Serial 8166  
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Author Nematollahi, P.; Neyts, E.C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Linking bi-metal distribution patterns in porous carbon nitride fullerene to its catalytic activity toward gas adsorption Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Nanomaterials Abbreviated Journal Nanomaterials-Basel  
  Volume 11 Issue 7 Pages 1794  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Immobilization of two single transition metal (TM) atoms on a substrate host opens numerous possibilities for catalyst design. If the substrate contains more than one vacancy site, the combination of TMs along with their distribution patterns becomes a design parameter potentially complementary to the substrate itself and the bi-metal composition. By means of DFT calculations, we modeled three dissimilar bi-metal atoms (Ti, Mn, and Cu) doped into the six porphyrin-like cavities of porous C24N24 fullerene, considering different bi-metal distribution patterns for each binary complex, viz. TixCuz@C24N24, TixMny@C24N24, and MnyCuz@C24N24 (with x, y, z = 0-6). We elucidate whether controlling the distribution of bi-metal atoms into the C24N24 cavities can alter their catalytic activity toward CO2, NO2, H-2, and N-2 gas capture. Interestingly, Ti2Mn4@C24N24 and Ti2Cu4@C24N24 complexes showed the highest activity and selectively toward gas capture. Our findings provide useful information for further design of novel few-atom carbon-nitride-based catalysts.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000676140500001 Publication Date 2021-07-09  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2079-4991 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.553 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 3.553  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:180372 Serial 8174  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Cui, Z. file  openurl
  Title Experimental and theoretical study on SF6 degradation by packed-bed DBD plasma Type Doctoral thesis
  Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), as a man-made gas, is widely used in power industry, semiconductor industry and metal-processing industry. However, SF6 is a greenhouse gas and its global warming potential is 23500 times that of CO2. Besides, SF6 is very stable, with a lifetime in the atmosphere for more than one thousand years. Under natural conditions, only the ultraviolet light can make it slowly decomposed. Thus, the emission of SF6 has a great threat to the environment. In recent years, with the development of our national economy, the use of SF6 increased dramatically. And 90% of the SF6 emissions come from the power industry. In the meantime, the emission of SF6 exists a ‘hysteresis effect’, as many of the SF6-gas insulation equipment will retire in next decades, the emission of SF6 may increase sharply, and this may put great pressure on the environment. Therefore, it’s necessary to make efforts in controlling and treating the SF6 emission. Among the SF6 abatement technologies, the non-thermal plasma(NTP) represented by the dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) can effectively degrade SF6 and is suitable for large-scale industry applications. However, its energy efficiency still gets room for improvement and this kind of method has a defect that it’s hard to regulate the degradation by-products. Therefore, this paper proposed the combination of the packed bed reactor and the DBD technology to form a packed DBD discharge system for SF6 degradation, so that to further improve the energy efficiency and regulate the selectivity of by-products. By experiment and simulation research, the following innovations have been achieved: (1) Based on the packed bed DBD platform, the power parameter and gas-phase parameters of SF6 degradation were studied. It was found that the discharge process was significantly enhanced with the addition of packing particles, and the discharge energy efficiency was improved. The increase of input voltage can obviously increase the degradation rate, but reduces the energy efficiency. The increase of SF6 initial concentration and gas flow rate can improve the energy efficiency, but reduce the degradation rate. Therefore, both degradation rate and energy efficiency should be considered in deciding basic experimental conditions. (2) Active gases, such as O2, H2O and NH3, could effectively promote the degradation rate of SF6, and changed the product selectivity. In our packed bed DBD system, O2 and H2O have the optimal concentration conditions, which are 2% and 1%, respectively. The addition of O2 can promote the generation of S-O-F products, and inhibit the selectivity of SO2, while the addition of H2O had the opposite effects. In addition, the synergistic degradation of NH3 and SF6 will produce solid products, such as NH3HF, NH4HF2 and elemental S. For gaseous products, the increase of NH3 will lead to the generation of SO2 in the final degradation products and inhibit the generation of S-O-F products. (3) Different kinds of packing materials have great impacts on the degradation system in the discharge parameters, degradation rate and energy efficiency, as well as the products distribution. In the experiment, we compared the degradation results in three systems: glass beads packing, γ-Al2O3 packing and no-packing system. The packing of glass beads effectively improved the discharge voltage amplitude and discharge power, while had a limited effect on the equivalent capacitance of the dielectric. Besides, γ-Al2O3 packing had little effect on voltage amplitude, but obviously increased the equivalent capacitance of the dielectric. Furthermore, the degradation rate and energy efficiency in γ-Al2O3 system was higher than that of glass bead system. For products selectivity, γ-Al2O3 system was more desirable, where S-O-F type of product selectivity was suppressed and the SO2 selectivity increased significantly. By contrast, the glass beads system hardly affected the product selectivity. This results are presumably due to the relatively high dielectric constant of γ-Al2O3 particles and γ-Al2O3 itself may act as a reactant or a catalyst participating in the degradation reactions. (4) The size and status of the packing particles also have significant effects on the degradation process. The systems packed with 1, 2 and 4mm γ-Al2O3 particles for SF6 degradation were compared, and the 2mm system had the best performance, which may because the 2mm system had a good balance between the active contact area and the gas residence time. In addition, the packing pellets suffered from a hydration process slightly reduced the discharge parameters in the γ-Al2O3 packing system and significantly reduced the degradation rate was, which may because the H2O molecules pre-occupied the active sites on the γ-Al2O3 surface and reduced the discharge process. (5) Based on density functional theory (DFT), the degradation process of SF6 in the packed bed DBD system was studied at atomic scale. It was found that the SF6 can occur a physical adsorption at AlⅢ active sites on γ-Al2O3 surface. The activation barrier for the first degradation step of SF6 on γ-Al2O3 surface is much lower than in gas phase, which proved that the SF6 molecule is activated on the γ-Al2O3 surface. In addition, the plasma may affect the γ-Al2O3 surface to generate excess electrons or external electric fields. This two effects can change the adsorbed SF6 molecules from physical adsorption to chemisorption, together with an obvious stretching of S-F bonds, indicating that the plasma surface effects prmote the activation and decomposition of SF6 molecules. Furthermore, the stepwise degradation process of SF6 on γ-Al2O3 surface were investigated. The influence of radicals produced by plasma on the degradation process was analyzed. It was found that via Eley–Rideal (ER) reactions, high-energy radicals could effectively reduce the activation barriers and promote the surface reactions. Finally, the degradation mechanism of SF6 molecules in the packed bed plasma system was summarized, which may provide a theoretical basis for the study of harmless degradation of SF6. Keywords: SF6; Packed Bed DBD; Discharge Parameters; Products Analysis; Degradation Mechanism  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos Publication Date  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:180819 Serial 7946  
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Author Van Loenhout, J. url  openurl
  Title Targeting pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma with oxidative stress-mediated treatment strategies : focus on tumor cell death and modulation of the tumor microenvironment Type Doctoral thesis
  Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 167 p.  
  Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Center for Oncological Research (CORE)  
  Abstract Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are two of the most malignant solid tumor types with poor survival rates, which underscore the urgency of novel and efficacious treatment strategies. Within the last decade, immunotherapy has been established as a breakthrough in cancer therapy. This mainly has been driven by the clinical data and approval associated with several immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g. anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/L1). Despite the clinical benefit in specific tumor types, these inhibitors have not yet fulfilled their promise in low immunogenic tumors such as PDAC and GBM. Oxidative stress in cancer cells due to elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and an inability to balance intracellular redox state has recently been highlighted as promising target for anticancer treatment strategies with possible immunogenic effects. In this PhD dissertation, I investigated novel oxidative stress-mediated treatment approaches to target PDAC and GBM and to enhance immunogenicity by inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD). In the first part of this thesis (chapter 2), I reviewed the mechanistic responses of cancer cells towards different oxidative stress-inducing treatment strategies and their immunomodulating effects. The resulting literature demonstrated that different exogenous and endogenous ROS-inducing therapies show direct and indirect immunomodulating effects, which can be either immunostimulatory or immunosuppressive. One of the indirect immunostimulatory effects of the ROS-mediating therapies is the capacity of inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumor cells, which can increase the immunogenicity and consequently can trigger an antitumoral immune response. In chapter 3, I investigated a novel exogenous ROS-inducing treatment method, namely cold atmospheric plasma, to determine the therapeutic and ICD-inducing effects in PDAC, in vitro. I revealed that plasma-treated PBS (pPBS) has the potential to induce ICD in pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs) and to reduce the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) by attacking the tumor supportive pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). Although the cell death induced in PSCs was non-immunogenic as seen by the lack of danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) emission and DC activation, I showed that pPBS could disrupt the physical barrier and lower the immunosuppressive secretion profile (lower TGF-β) of PSCs. In contrast, DAMPs were released by PCCs after treatment with pPBS which resulted in activation and maturation of DCs and a more immunostimulatory secretion profile (higher TNF-α, IFN-γ). Hence, indirect plasma treatment via pPBS has the potential to enhance immunogenicity in PDAC by triggering ICD and by attacking the immunosuppressive PSCs. Tumor cells can evolve adaptation mechanisms to protect themselves against intrinsic oxidative stress by upregulation of pro-survival molecules and their antioxidant defense system to maintain the redox balance. As such, tumor cells can become resistant towards exogenous ROS-inducing therapies, like plasma. Dual targeting of the redox balance of tumor cells by increasing exogenous levels of ROS and inhibiting the antioxidant defense system can maximally exploit ROS-mediated cell death mechanisms as therapeutic anticancer strategy. In this regard, cold atmospheric plasma was combined with auranofin, a thioredoxin reductase inhibitor, in GBM (chapter 4). A synergistic effect was shown after this combination treatment in 2D and 3D, however, in 3D only high concentrations of auranofin synergized with plasma treatment. I confirmed a ROS-mediated response after combination treatment, which was able to induce distinct cell death mechanisms, specifically apoptosis and ferroptosis. Additionally, the auranofin and plasma combined treatment strategy induced cell death, which resulted in an increased release of DAMPs. Together with the observed DC maturation, these results indicates the potential increase in immunogenicity, though, the phagocytotic capacity of DCs was inhibited by auranofin. In chapter 5, I evaluated this promising oxidative stress combination therapy in GBM, in vivo. A decrease in tumor kinetics and an increased survival in GBM-bearing mice was observed when auranofin was sequentially combined with direct plasma treatment. No T cell infiltration was observed after auranofin monotherapy. However, further characterization of the TME after the combination therapy is necessary to provide more insight in the immunogenic effects in vivo. In conclusion, this PhD dissertation comprises novel and important therapeutic and immunogenic insights in cold atmospheric plasma and auranofin as promising oxidative stress-mediated treatment strategies for low immunogenic tumors, like PDAC and GBM. These preclinical results provide a solid basis for future research towards combinations with immunotherapeutic approaches.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos Publication Date  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:181309 Serial 8643  
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Author Nematollahi, P.; Ma, H.; Schneider, W.F.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title DFT and microkinetic comparison of ru-doped porphyrin-like graphene and nanotubes toward catalytic formic acid decomposition and formation Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry C Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C  
  Volume 125 Issue 34 Pages 18673-18683  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Immobilization of single metal atoms on a solid host opens numerous possibilities for catalyst designs. If that host is a two-dimensional sheet, sheet curvature becomes a design parameter potentially complementary to host and metal composition. Here, we use a combination of density functional theory calculations and microkinetic modeling to compare the mechanisms and kinetics of formic acid decomposition and formation, chosen for their relevance as a potential hydrogen storage medium, over single Ru atoms anchored to pyridinic nitrogen in a planar graphene flake (RuN4-G) and curved carbon nanotube (RuN4-CNT). Activation barriers are lowered and the predicted turnover frequencies are increased over RuN4-CNT relative to RuN4-CNT. The results highlight the potential of curvature control as a means to achieve high performance and robust catalysts.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000693413400013 Publication Date 2021-08-22  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1932-7447; 1932-7455 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 4.536  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:181538 Serial 7805  
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Author Surmenev, R.A.; Grubova, I.Y.; Neyts, E.; Teresov, A.D.; Koval, N.N.; Epple, M.; Tyurin, A.I.; Pichugin, V.F.; Chaikina, M.V.; Surmeneva, M.A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Ab initio calculations and a scratch test study of RF-magnetron sputter deposited hydroxyapatite and silicon-containing hydroxyapatite coatings Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2020 Publication Surfaces and interfaces Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume 21 Issue Pages  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract A crucial property for implants is their biocompatibility. To ensure biocompatibility, thin coatings of hydroxyapatite (HA) are deposited on the actual implant. In this study, we investigate the effects of the addition of silicate anions to the structure of hydroxyapatite coatings on their adhesion strength via a scratch test and ab initio calculations. We find that both the grain size and adhesion strength decrease with the increase in the silicon content in the HA coating (SiHA). The increase in the silicon content to 1.2 % in the HA coating leads to a decrease in the average crystallite size from 28 to 21 nm, and in the case of 4.6 %, it leads to the formation of an amorphous or nanocrystalline film. The decreases in the grain and crystallite sizes lead to peeling and destruction of the coating from the titanium substrate at lower loads. Further, our ab initio simulations demonstrate an increased number of molecular bonds at the amorphous SiHA-TiO2 interface. However, the experimental results revealed that the structure and grain size have more pronounced effects on the adhesion strength of the coatings. In conclusion, based on the results of the ab initio simulations and the experimental results, we suggest that the presence of Si in the form of silicate ions in the HA coating has a significant impact on the structure, grain size, and number of molecular bonds at the interface and on the adhesion strength of the SiHA coating to the titanium substrate.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000697616300009 Publication Date 2020-10-02  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2468-0230 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 6.2 Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 6.2; 2020 IF: NA  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:181685 Serial 7400  
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Author Chernozem, R., V; Romanyuk, K.N.; Grubova, I.; Chernozem, P., V.; Surmeneva, M.A.; Mukhortova, Y.R.; Wilhelm, M.; Ludwig, T.; Mathur, S.; Kholkin, A.L.; Neyts, E.; Parakhonskiy, B.; Skirtach, A.G.; Surmenev, R.A. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Enhanced piezoresponse and surface electric potential of hybrid biodegradable polyhydroxybutyrate scaffolds functionalized with reduced graphene oxide for tissue engineering Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Nano Energy Abbreviated Journal Nano Energy  
  Volume 89 Issue B Pages 106473  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Piezoelectricity is considered to be one of the key functionalities in biomaterials to boost bone tissue regeneration, however, integrating biocompatibility, biodegradability and 3D structure with pronounced piezoresponse remains a material challenge. Herein, novel hybrid biocompatible 3D scaffolds based on biodegradable poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) flakes have been developed. Nanoscale insights revealed a more homogenous distribution and superior surface potential values of PHB fibers (33 +/- 29 mV) with increasing rGO content up to 1.0 wt% (314 +/- 31 mV). The maximum effective piezoresponse was detected at 0.7 wt% rGO content, demonstrating 2.5 and 1.7 times higher out-of-plane and in-plane values, respectively, than that for pure PHB fibers. The rGO addition led to enhanced zigzag chain formation between paired lamellae in PHB fibers. In contrast, a further increase in rGO content reduced the alpha-crystal size and prevented zigzag chain conformation. A corresponding model explaining structural and molecular changes caused by rGO addition in electrospun PHB fibers is proposed. In addition, finite element analysis revealed a negligible vertical piezoresponse compared to lateral piezoresponse in uniaxially oriented PHB fibers based on alpha-phase (P2(1)2(1)2(1) space group). Thus, the present study demonstrates promising results for the development of biodegradable hybrid 3D scaffolds with an enhanced piezoresponse for various tissue engineering applications.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000703592700002 Publication Date 2021-08-31  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2211-2855 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 12.343 Times cited Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 12.343  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:182579 Serial 7914  
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Author Lin, A.; Biscop, E.; Gorbanev, Y.; Smits, E.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Toward defining plasma treatment dose : the role of plasma treatment energy of pulsed‐dielectric barrier discharge in dictating in vitro biological responses Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication Plasma Processes And Polymers Abbreviated Journal Plasma Process Polym  
  Volume 19 Issue 3 Pages e2100151  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Pharmacology. Therapy; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The energy dependence of a pulsed-dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma treatment on chemical species production and biological responses was investigated. We hypothesized that the total plasma energy delivered during treatment encompasses the influence of major application parameters. A microsecond-pulsed DBD system was used to treat three different cancer cell lines and cell viability was analyzed. The energy per pulse was measured and the total plasma treatment energy was controlled by adjusting the pulse frequency, treatment time, and application distance. Our data suggest that the delivered plasma energy plays a predominant role in stimulating a biological response in vitro. This study aids in developing steps toward defining a plasma treatment unit and treatment dose for biomedical and clinical research.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000711907800001 Publication Date 2021-10-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1612-8850 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.5 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 3.5  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:182916 Serial 7219  
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Author Zhang, L. openurl 
  Title Characteristic diagnosis of atmospheric discharge plasma and kinetics study of reactive species Type Doctoral thesis
  Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages XVIII, 148 p.  
  Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Low-temperature plasma has received extensive attention due to its promising application prospects in the field of air pollutants degradation and energy conversion. To fulfill the need for particular applications, constructing stable plasma sources and investigating the interaction mechanisms between plasma and substances have been hot research topics. This thesis reports the diagnosis and improvement of plasma sources, diagnosis of the active species in plasma and a modeling study of chemical kinetics processes. The main research contents are as follows: In Chapter 3, a diffuse sine AC dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is successfully obtained by optimizing the electrode structure. It is found that using double-layer dielectric plates can limit the discharge current intensity and significantly improve the discharge uniformity. The electrical characteristics and gas temperature with different operating time show that the discharge stability is also improved by using double-layer dielectric plates. In Chapter 4, nanosecond pulses are employed to generate diffuse DBD plasmas. Three main discharge stages are distinguished by ICCD images, i.e., the streamer breakdown from the needle tip to the plate electrode, the regime transition from streamer to diffuse plasma, and the propagation of surface discharge on the plate electrode surface. The chapter reveales that in nanosecond pulsed discharges the vibrational temperature of N2 increases with the discharge duration, while the rotational temperature mainly stays constant, which means electron energy is transferred into the vibrational levels, but gas heating is not obvious during the discharge pulse. In Chapter 5, both sine AC DBD and nanosecond pulsed DBD, studied in Chapter 2 and 3, are used for formaldehyde degradation. It is found that nanosecond pulsed DBD has more homogenous characteristics, better stability, and lower plasma gas temperature. Moreover, the energy consumption of nanosecond pulsed DBD is much lower than that of AC DBD. In Chapter 6, a 0D chemical kinetics model is developed to investigate the underlying plasma chemistry of methane dry reforming in a nanosecond pulsed discharge. An overview of the dominant reaction pathways of CO2 and CH4 conversion into the major products is given. Furthermore, most of the CO2 molecules are populated into vibrational states during the pulse. Hence, the vibrational states of CO2 play an important role in its dissociation process. In general, this PhD thesis contributes to a better insight in the mechanisms of sinusoidal AC DBD and nanosecond pulsed DBD plasmas and their applications, i.e., decomposition of formaldehyde and dry reforming of methane.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos Publication Date  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:183166 Serial 7605  
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Author Shaw, P. url  openurl
  Title Dual action of reactive species as signal and stress agents in plasma medicine : combined computational and experimental research Type Doctoral thesis
  Year 2021 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 191 p.  
  Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Center for Oncological Research (CORE)  
  Abstract Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) generated by cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) can activate discrete signaling transduction pathways or disrupt redox cellular homeostasis, depending on their concentration. This makes that CAP possesses therapeutic potential towards wound healing, cancer, and other diseases. In order to effectively use CAP in the clinic, a clear understanding of the interaction of RONS with biomolecules (lipids, proteins and nucleic acids) from the atomic to the macro scale, and their biological significance, is needed. In this work, I have therefore studied the dual role of CAP-derived RONS, i.e., (i) in the signaling pathways involved in wound healing, and (ii) in their reaction with biomolecules to cause oxidation-mediated damage. I performed computer simulations to provide fundamental insight about the occurring processes that are difficult or even impossible to obtain experimentally. Furthermore, next to computational studies, I used both 2D and 3D tissue cultures. 3D model allows proliferation in a more physiologically relevant geometry that stimulates the production of extracellular matrix proteins. I investigated the treatment of human gingival fibroblasts with low doses of CAP-generated RONS. This treatment demonstrated that it can inhibit colony formation but does not induce cell death, induce the expression of metalloprotease proteins, induce extracellular matrix degradation, and promote cell migration, which could result in enhanced wound healing. In contrast, at high concentrations, RONS can disrupt the cell membrane integrity and induce cancer cell death through oxidative stress-mediated pathways. I discovered how oxidation of the cell membrane (lipid-peroxidation) can facilitate the access of a drug (Melittin) into cancer cells, and in this way, reduce the required therapeutic dose of Melittin in melanoma and breast cancer cells (demonstrated using in vitro, in ovo and in silico approaches). Furthermore, I studied how excessive lipid-oxidation in chemoresistant pancreatic cancer cells promotes ferroptotic cell death. This was due to the stimulation of the iron-dependent Fenton reaction by targeting a redox specific signaling network. However, upon oxidative stress, cells protect themselves via a sophisticated intracellular antioxidant system that involves the regulation of glutathione/glutathione peroxidase 4 (lipid repair enzyme). Cancer cells exhibited increased levels of intracellular RONS due to their hyper metabolism, leading to high expression of anti-oxidant systems. I therefore focus on the effect of reactive species on the intracellular anti-oxidant system and corresponding DNA damages in both temozolomide-sensitive as well as temozolomide-resistant glioblastoma spheroids, in a 3-dimensional tumor model with a more complex tumor microenvironment than cell monolayers.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos Publication Date  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:183751 Serial 7828  
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Author Villarreal, R.; Lin, P.-C.; Faraji, F.; Hassani, N.; Bana, H.; Zarkua, Z.; Nair, M.N.; Tsai, H.-C.; Auge, M.; Junge, F.; Hofsaess, H.C.; De Gendt, S.; De Feyter, S.; Brems, S.; Ahlgren, E.H.; Neyts, E.C.; Covaci, L.; Peeters, F.M.; Neek-Amal, M.; Pereira, L.M.C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Breakdown of universal scaling for nanometer-sized bubbles in graphene Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Nano Letters Abbreviated Journal Nano Lett  
  Volume 21 Issue 19 Pages 8103-8110  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Condensed Matter Theory (CMT); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract We report the formation of nanobubbles on graphene with a radius of the order of 1 nm, using ultralow energy implantation of noble gas ions (He, Ne, Ar) into graphene grown on a Pt(111) surface. We show that the universal scaling of the aspect ratio, which has previously been established for larger bubbles, breaks down when the bubble radius approaches 1 nm, resulting in much larger aspect ratios. Moreover, we observe that the bubble stability and aspect ratio depend on the substrate onto which the graphene is grown (bubbles are stable for Pt but not for Cu) and trapped element. We interpret these dependencies in terms of the atomic compressibility of the noble gas as well as of the adhesion energies between graphene, the substrate, and trapped atoms.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000709549100026 Publication Date 2021-09-14  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1530-6984 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 12.712 Times cited 12 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 12.712  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:184137 Serial 6857  
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Author Bal, K.M. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Reweighted Jarzynski sampling : acceleration of rare events and free energy calculation with a bias potential learned from nonequilibrium work Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Chemical Theory And Computation Abbreviated Journal J Chem Theory Comput  
  Volume 17 Issue 11 Pages 6766-6774  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract We introduce a simple enhanced sampling approach for the calculation of free energy differences and barriers along a one-dimensional reaction coordinate. First, a small number of short nonequilibrium simulations are carried out along the reaction coordinate, and the Jarzynski equality is used to learn an approximate free energy surface from the nonequilibrium work distribution. This free energy estimate is represented in a compact form as an artificial neural network and used as an external bias potential to accelerate rare events in a subsequent molecular dynamics simulation. The final free energy estimate is then obtained by reweighting the equilibrium probability distribution of the reaction coordinate sampled under the influence of the external bias. We apply our reweighted Jarzynski sampling recipe to four processes of varying scales and complexities.spanning chemical reaction in the gas phase, pair association in solution, and droplet nucleation in supersaturated vapor. In all cases, we find reweighted Jarzynski sampling to be a very efficient strategy, resulting in rapid convergence of the free energy to high precision.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000718183600008 Publication Date 2021-10-29  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1549-9618 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 5.245 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 5.245  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:184676 Serial 8479  
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Author Gerrits, N. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Accurate simulations of the reaction of H₂ on a curved Pt crystal through machine learning Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry Letters Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem Lett  
  Volume 12 Issue 51 Pages 12157-12164  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Theoretical studies on molecule-metal surface reactions have so far been limited to small surface unit cells due to computational costs. Here, for the first time molecular dynamics simulations on very large surface unit cells at the level of density functional theory are performed, allowing a direct comparison to experiments performed on a curved crystal. Specifically, the reaction of D-2 on a curved Pt crystal is investigated with a neural network potential (NNP). The developed NNP is also accurate for surface unit cells considerably larger than those that have been included in the training data, allowing dynamical simulations on very large surface unit cells that otherwise would have been intractable. Important and complex aspects of the reaction mechanism are discovered such as diffusion and a shadow effect of the step. Furthermore, conclusions from simulations on smaller surface unit cells cannot always be transfered to larger surface unit cells, limiting the applicability of theoretical studies of smaller surface unit cells to heterogeneous catalysts with small defect densities.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000734045900001 Publication Date 2021-12-17  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1948-7185 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 9.353 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 9.353  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:184717 Serial 7413  
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Author Clima, S.; O'Sullivan, B.J.; Ronchi, N.; Bardon, M.G.; Banerjee, K.; Van den Bosch, G.; Pourtois, G.; van Houdt, J. pdf  doi
openurl 
  Title Ferroelectric switching in FEFET : physics of the atomic mechanism and switching dynamics in HfZrOx, HfO2 with oxygen vacancies and Si dopants Type P1 Proceeding
  Year 2020 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages  
  Keywords P1 Proceeding; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The fine balance between dipole-field energy and anion drift force defines the switching mechanism during polarization reversal: for the first time we show that only Pbcm mechanism obeys the ferroelectric switching physics, whereas P4(2)/nmc (or any other) mechanism does not. However, with lower energy barrier, it represents an important antiferroelectric mechanism. Constraints relaxation can lead to 90 degrees polarization rotation (domain deactivation). Intrinsically, the Si/VO-doping can switch faster than undoped HfO2 or HfZrOx. Theoretical Arrhenius model / intrinsic material switching (DFT) overestimates the switching speed extracted from experiments.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000717011600218 Publication Date 2021-03-11  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 978-1-7281-8888-1 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:184730 Serial 7963  
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Author Bal, K.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Nucleation rates from small scale atomistic simulations and transition state theory Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Journal Of Chemical Physics Abbreviated Journal J Chem Phys  
  Volume 155 Issue 14 Pages 144111  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract The evaluation of nucleation rates from molecular dynamics trajectories is hampered by the slow nucleation time scale and impact of finite size effects. Here, we show that accurate nucleation rates can be obtained in a very general fashion relying only on the free energy barrier, transition state theory, and a simple dynamical correction for diffusive recrossing. In this setup, the time scale problem is overcome by using enhanced sampling methods, in casu metadynamics, whereas the impact of finite size effects can be naturally circumvented by reconstructing the free energy surface from an appropriate ensemble. Approximations from classical nucleation theory are avoided. We demonstrate the accuracy of the approach by calculating macroscopic rates of droplet nucleation from argon vapor, spanning 16 orders of magnitude and in excellent agreement with literature results, all from simulations of very small (512 atom) systems.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000755502100008 Publication Date 2021-09-30  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0021-9606 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.965 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.965  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:184937 Serial 8320  
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Author Cui, Z.; Meng, S.; Yi, Y.; Jafarzadeh, A.; Li, S.; Neyts, E.C.; Hao, Y.; Li, L.; Zhang, X.; Wang, X.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Plasma-catalytic methanol synthesis from CO₂ hydrogenation over a supported Cu cluster catalyst : insights into the reaction mechanism Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication Acs Catalysis Abbreviated Journal Acs Catal  
  Volume 12 Issue 2 Pages 1326-1337  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Plasma-catalytic CO, hydrogenation for methanol production is gaining increasing interest, but our understanding of its reaction mechanism remains primitive. We present a combined experimental/computational study on plasma-catalytic CO, hydrogenation to CH3OH over a size-selected Cu/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst. Our experiments demonstrate a synergistic effect between the Cu/gamma-Al2O3 catalyst and the CO2/H-2 plasma, achieving a CO2 conversion of 10% at 4 wt % Cu loading and a CH3OH selectivity near 50% further rising to 65% with H2O addition (for a H2O/CO2 ratio of 1). Furthermore, the energy consumption for CH3OH production was more than 20 times lower than with plasma only. We carried out density functional theory calculations over a Cu-13/gamma-Al2O3 model, which reveal that the interfacial sites of the Cu-13 cluster and gamma-Al2O3 support show a bifunctional effect: they not only activate the CO2 molecules but also strongly adsorb key intermediates to promote their hydrogenation further. Reactive plasma species can regulate the catalyst surface reactions via the Eley-Rideal (E-R) mechanism, which accelerates the hydrogenation process and promotes the generation of the key intermediates. H2O can promote the CH3OH desorption by competitive adsorption over the Cu-13/gamma-Al2O3 surface. This study provides new insights into CO2 hydrogenation through plasma catalysis, and it provides inspiration for the conversion of some other small molecules (CH4, N-2, CO, etc.) by plasma catalysis using supported-metal clusters.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000742735600001 Publication Date 2022-01-07  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2155-5435 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 12.9 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 12.9  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:186416 Serial 7192  
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Author Xiaoyan, S.; Zhang, Y.-R.; Wang, Y.-N.; He, J.-X. doi  openurl
  Title Fluid simulation of the superimposed dual-frequency source effect in inductively coupled discharges Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2021 Publication Physics Of Plasmas Abbreviated Journal Phys Plasmas  
  Volume 28 Issue 11 Pages 113504-113510  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Superimposition of dual frequencies (DFs) is one of the methods used for controlling plasma distribution in an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) source. The effects of a superimposed DF on the argon plasma characteristics have been investigated using a two-dimensional self-consistent fluid model. When both currents are fixed at 6A, the plasma density drops with decrease in one of the source frequencies due to less efficient heating and the plasma uniformity improves significantly. Moreover, for ICP operated with superimposed DFs (i.e., 4.52MHz/13.56MHz and 2.26MHz/13.56MHz), the current source exhibits the same period as the low frequency (LF) component, and the plasma density is higher than that obtained at a single frequency (i.e., 4.52 and 2.26MHz) with the same total current of 12A. However, at superimposed current frequencies of 6.78MHz/13.56MHz, the plasma density is lower than that obtained at a single frequency of 6.78MHz due to the weaker negative azimuthal electric field between two positive maxima during one period of 6.78MHz. When the superimposed DF ICP operates at 2.26 and 13.56MHz, the rapid oscillations of the induced electric field become weaker during one period of 2.26MHz as the current ratio of 2.26MHz/13.56MHz rises from 24A/7 A to 30A/1 A, and the plasma density drops with the current ratio due to weakened electron heating. The uniformity of plasma increases due to sufficient diffusion under the low-density condition.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000760326100004 Publication Date 2021-11-19  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1070-664x ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 2.115 Times cited Open Access Not_Open_Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.115  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:187245 Serial 7974  
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Author Faraji, F.; Neek-Amal, M.; Neyts, E.C.; Peeters, F.M. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Indentation of graphene nano-bubbles Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication Nanoscale Abbreviated Journal Nanoscale  
  Volume 14 Issue 15 Pages 5876-5883  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Condensed Matter Theory (CMT); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Molecular dynamics simulations are used to investigate the effect of an AFM tip when indenting graphene nano bubbles filled by a noble gas (i.e. He, Ne and Ar) up to the breaking point. The failure points resemble those of viral shells as described by the Foppl-von Karman (FvK) dimensionless number defined in the context of elasticity theory of thin shells. At room temperature, He gas inside the bubbles is found to be in the liquid state while Ne and Ar atoms are in the solid state although the pressure inside the nano bubble is below the melting pressure of the bulk. The trapped gases are under higher hydrostatic pressure at low temperatures than at room temperature.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000776763000001 Publication Date 2022-03-30  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2040-3364; 2040-3372 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 6.7 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 6.7  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:187924 Serial 7171  
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Author van 't Veer, K.C. url  openurl
  Title Plasma kinetics modelling of nitrogen fixation : ammonia synthesis in dielectric barrier discharges with catalysts Type Doctoral thesis
  Year 2022 Publication Abbreviated Journal  
  Volume Issue Pages 241 p.  
  Keywords Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Ammonia (NH3) synthesis is crucial for the production of artificial fertilizer and is carried out through the Haber-Bosch process. With an energy consumption of 30 GJ/t-NH3 and the emission of 2 kg-CO2/kg-NH3, ammonia is the chemical with the largest environmental footprint. Haber-Bosch operates under high pressure and high temperature conditions. Plasma technology potentially allows greener ammonia production. Dielectric barrier discharges are a popular plasma source in which a catalyst is easily incorporated. The combination of plasma and catalyst can circumvent the harsh reaction conditions of the Haber-Bosch process. Plasma kinetics modelling is used to gain insight into the mechanisms of such plasma-catalytic systems. Special attention is given to the instantaneous power absorbed by the electrons, the relevant fraction of the microdischarges and the discharge volumes. The importance of vibrational excitation is investigated. Depending on the exact discharge conditions, it was found that both the strong microdischarges and vibrational excitation can be simultaneously important for the ammonia yield. The temporal behavior of filamentary dielectric barrier discharges was explicitly taken into account. Ammonia was found to decompose during the microdischarges due to electron impact dissociation. At the same time atomic nitrogen and other excited species are created. Those reactive species recombine to ammonia in the afterglow through various elementary Eley-Rideal and Langmuir-Hinshelwood surface reaction steps with a net ammonia gain. Finally, the concept of the fraction of microdischarges was generalized. It directly represents the efficiency with which the applied electric power is transferred to each individual particle in the plasma reactor. It is argued that any type of spatial or temporal non-uniformity of the plasma will cause unequal treatment of the gas molecules in the reactor, corresponding to a lower efficiency at which the power is transferred to the gas molecules. All of those insights aid in an increased understanding of plasma-catalytic ammonia synthesis as a potential green chemistry solution to the synthesis of ammonia on small scale.    
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos Publication Date  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN ISBN Additional Links UA library record  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:188246 Serial 7193  
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Author Nematollahi, P.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Distribution pattern of metal atoms in bimetal-doped pyridinic-N₄ pores determines their potential for electrocatalytic N₂ reduction Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2022 Publication Journal Of Physical Chemistry A Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem A  
  Volume 126 Issue 20 Pages 3080-3089  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Doping two single transition-metal (TM) atoms on a substrate host opens numerous possibilities for catalyst design. However, what if the substrate contains more than one vacancy site? Then, the combination of two TMs along with their distribution patterns becomes a design parameter potentially complementary to the substrate itself and the bimetal composition. In this study, we investigate ammonia synthesis under mild electrocatalytic conditions on a transition-metal-doped porous C24N24 catalyst using density functional theory (DFT). The TMs studied include Ti, Mn, and Cu in a 2:4 dopant ratio (Ti2Mn4@C24N24 and Ti2Cu4@N-24(24)). Our computations show that a single Ti atom in both catalysts exhibits the highest selectivity for N-2 fixation at ambient conditions. This work is a good theoretical model to establish the structure-activity relationship, and the knowledge earned from the metal-N-4 moieties may help studies of related nanomaterials, especially those with curved structures.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000804119800003 Publication Date 2022-05-12  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1089-5639; 1520-5215 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record  
  Impact Factor 2.9 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.9  
  Call Number (up) UA @ admin @ c:irua:189023 Serial 7146  
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