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Author Aghaei, M.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Flowing Atmospheric Pressure Afterglow for Ambient Ionization: Reaction Pathways Revealed by Modeling Type A1 Journal article
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Analytical Chemistry Abbreviated Journal Anal Chem  
  Volume 93 Issue 17 Pages 6620-6628  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract We describe the plasma chemistry in a helium flowing atmospheric pressure afterglow (FAPA) used for analytical spectrometry, by means of a quasione-dimensional (1D) plasma chemical kinetics model. We study the effect of typical impurities present in the feed gas, as well as the afterglow in ambient humid air. The model provides the species density profiles in the discharge and afterglow regions and the chemical pathways. We demonstrate that H, N, and O atoms are formed in the discharge region, while the dominant reactive neutral species in the afterglow are O3 and NO. He* and He2* are responsible for Penning ionization of O2, N2, H2O, H2, and N, and especially O and H atoms. Besides, He2+ also contributes to ionization of N2, O2, H2O, and O through charge transfer reactions. From the pool of ions created in the discharge, NO+ and (H2O)3H+ are the dominant ions in the afterglow. Moreover, negatively charged clusters, such as NO3H2O− and NO2H2O−, are formed and their pathway is discussed as well. Our model predictions are in line with earlier observations in the literature about the important reagent ions and provide a comprehensive overview of the underlying pathways. The model explains in detail why helium provides a high analytical sensitivity because of high reagent ion formation by both Penning ionization and charge transfer. Such insights are very valuable for improving the analytical performance of this (and other) ambient desorption/ionization source(s).  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000648505900008 Publication Date 2021-05-04  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0003-2700 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 6.32 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 6713 ; The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO) grant number 6713. The computational work was carried out using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UA), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (Department EWI), and the UA. The authors also thank J. T. Shelley for providing experimental data for the gas velocity behind the anode disk and before the mass spectrometer interface, to validate our model. Approved Most recent IF: 6.32  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:178126 Serial 6762  
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Author Rouwenhorst, K.H.R.; Jardali, F.; Bogaerts, A.; Lefferts, L. url  doi
openurl 
  Title From the Birkeland–Eyde process towards energy-efficient plasma-based NOXsynthesis: a techno-economic analysis Type A1 Journal article
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Energy & Environmental Science Abbreviated Journal Energ Environ Sci  
  Volume 14 Issue 5 Pages 2520-2534  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Plasma-based NO<sub>X</sub>synthesis<italic>via</italic>the Birkeland–Eyde process was one of the first industrial nitrogen fixation methods. However, this technology never played a dominant role for nitrogen fixation, due to the invention of the Haber–Bosch process. Recently, nitrogen fixation by plasma technology has gained significant interest again, due to the emergence of low cost, renewable electricity. We first present a short historical background of plasma-based NO<sub>X</sub>synthesis. Thereafter, we discuss the reported performance for plasma-based NO<sub>X</sub>synthesis in various types of plasma reactors, along with the current understanding regarding the reaction mechanisms in the plasma phase, as well as on a catalytic surface. Finally, we benchmark the plasma-based NO<sub>X</sub>synthesis process with the electrolysis-based Haber–Bosch process combined with the Ostwald process, in terms of the investment cost and energy consumption. This analysis shows that the energy consumption for NO<sub>X</sub>synthesis with plasma technology is almost competitive with the commercial process with its current best value of 2.4 MJ mol N<sup>−1</sup>, which is required to decrease further to about 0.7 MJ mol N<sup>−1</sup>in order to become fully competitive. This may be accomplished through further plasma reactor optimization and effective plasma–catalyst coupling.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000639255800001 Publication Date 2021-03-31  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1754-5692 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 29.518 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes H2020 European Research Council; Horizon 2020, 810182 ; Ministerie van Economische Zaken en Klimaat; This research was supported by the TKI-Energie from Toeslag voor Topconsortia voor Kennis en Innovatie (TKI) from the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, the Excellence of Science FWO-FNRS project (FWO grant ID GoF9618n, EOS ID 30505023), and the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No 810182 – SCOPE ERC Synergy project). Approved Most recent IF: 29.518  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:178173 Serial 6763  
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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 (up) 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 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 (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:178139 Serial 6771  
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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 (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:177571 Serial 6772  
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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 (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:175958 Serial 6773  
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Author Yi, Y.; Li, S.; Cui, Z.; Hao, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Wang, L.; Liu, P.; Tu, X.; Xu, X.; Guo, H.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Selective oxidation of CH4 to CH3OH through plasma catalysis: Insights from catalyst characterization and chemical kinetics modelling Type A1 Journal Article;Methane conversion
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Applied Catalysis B-Environmental Abbreviated Journal Appl Catal B-Environ  
  Volume 296 Issue Pages 120384  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article;Methane conversion; Plasma catalysis; Selective oxidation; Methanol synthesis; Plasma chemistry; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract The selective oxidation of methane to methanol (SOMTM) by molecular oxygen is a holy grail in catalytic chemistry and remains a challenge in chemical industry. We perform SOMTM in a CH4/O2 plasma, at low temperature and atmospheric pressure, promoted by Ni-based catalysts, reaching 81 % liquid oxygenates selectivity and 50 % CH3OH selectivity, with an excellent catalytic stability. Chemical kinetics modelling shows that CH3OH in the plasma is mainly produced through radical reactions, i.e., CH4 + O(1D) → CH3O + H, fol­lowed by CH3O + H + M→ CH3OH + M and CH3O + HCO → CH3OH + CO. The catalyst characterization shows that the improved production of CH3OH is attributed to abundant chemisorbed oxygen species, originating from highly dispersed NiO phase with strong oxide support interaction with γ-Al2O3, which are capable of promoting CH3OH formation through E-R reactions and activating H2O molecules to facilitate CH3OH desorption.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000706860000003 Publication Date 2021-05-21  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0926-3373 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 9.446 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes National Natural Science Foundation of China; PetroChina Innovation Foundation; We acknowledge financial support from the PetroChina Innovation Foundation [grant ID: 2018D-5007-0501], the Young Star Project of Dalian Science and Technology Bureau [grant ID: 2019RQ042], the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant ID: 21503032] and the TOP research project of the Research Fund of the University of Antwerp [grant ID: 32249]. Approved Most recent IF: 9.446  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:178816 Serial 6793  
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Author Vanraes, P.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title The essential role of the plasma sheath in plasma–liquid interaction and its applications—A perspective Type A1 Journal Article
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Journal Of Applied Physics Abbreviated Journal J Appl Phys  
  Volume 129 Issue 22 Pages 220901  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract Based on the current knowledge, a plasma–liquid interface looks and behaves very differently from its counterpart at a solid surface. Local processes characteristic to most liquids include a stronger evaporation, surface deformations, droplet ejection, possibly distinct mechanisms behind secondary electron emission, the formation of an electric double layer, and an ion drift-mediated liquid resistivity. All of them can strongly influence the interfacial charge distribution. Accordingly, the plasma sheath at a liquid surface is most likely unique in its own way, both with respect to its structure and behavior. However, insights into these properties are still rather scarce or uncertain, and more studies are required to further disclose them. In this Perspective, we argue why more research on the plasma sheath is not only recommended but also crucial to an accurate understanding of the plasma–liquid interaction. First, we analyze how the sheath regulates various elementary processes at the plasma–liquid interface, in terms of the electrical coupling, the bidirectional mass transport, and the chemistry between plasma and liquid phase. Next, these three regulatory functions of the sheath are illustrated for concrete applications. Regarding the electrical coupling, a great deal of attention is paid to the penetration of fields into biological systems due to their relevance for plasma medicine, plasma agriculture, and food processing. Furthermore, we illuminate the role of the sheath in nuclear fusion, nanomaterial synthesis, and chemical applications. As such, we hope to motivate the plasma community for more fundamental research on plasma sheaths at liquid surfaces.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000681700000013 Publication Date 2021-06-14  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0021-8979 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.068 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes P.V. thanks Dr. Angela Privat Maldonado (University of Antwerp) for the fruitful discussions on Sec. III and Professor Mark J. Kushner (University of Michigan) for the interesting discussion on Ref. 198. Approved Most recent IF: 2.068  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:178814 Serial 6794  
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Author Bahnamiri, O.S.; Verheyen, C.; Snyders, R.; Bogaerts, A.; Britun, N. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Nitrogen fixation in pulsed microwave discharge studied by infrared absorption combined with modelling Type A1 Journal Article;nitrogen fixation
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Plasma Sources Science & Technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T  
  Volume 30 Issue 6 Pages 065007  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article;nitrogen fixation; pulsed microwave discharge; FTIR spectroscopy; discharge modelling; vibrational excitation; NO yield; energy cost; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract A pulsed microwave surfaguide discharge operating at 2.45 GHz was used for the conversion of molecular nitrogen into valuable compounds in several gas mixtures: N2 :O2 , N2 :O2 :CO2 and N2 :CO2 . The ro-vibrational absorption bands of the molecular species were monitored by a Fourier transform infrared apparatus in the post-discharge region in order to evaluate the relative number density of species, specifically NO production. The effects of specific energy input, pulse frequency, gas flow fraction, gas admixture and gas flow rate were studied for better understanding and optimization of the NO production yield and the corresponding energy cost (EC). By both the experiment and modelling, a highest NO yield is obtained at N2 :O2 (1:1) gas ratio in N2 :O2 mixture. The NO yield reveals a small growth followed by saturation when pulse repetition frequency increases. The energy efficiency start decreasing after the energy input reaches about 5 eV/molec, whereas the NO yield rises steadily at the same time. The lowest EC of about 8 MJ mol−1 corresponding to the yield and the energy efficiency of about 7% and 1% are found, respectively, in an optimum discharge condition in our case.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000659671000001 Publication Date 2021-06-01  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0963-0252 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique—FNRS, EOS O005118F ; The research is supported by the FNRS-FWO project ‘NITROPLASM’, EOS O005118F. O Samadi also acknowledges PhD student F Manaigo for cooperation in doing the additional measurements. Approved Most recent IF: 3.302  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:179170 Serial 6798  
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Author Shaw, P.; Kumar, N.; Mumtaz, S.; Lim, J.S.; Jang, J.H.; Kim, D.; Sahu, B.D.; Bogaerts, A.; Choi, E.H. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Evaluation of non-thermal effect of microwave radiation and its mode of action in bacterial cell inactivation Type A1 Journal Article
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Scientific Reports Abbreviated Journal Sci Rep-Uk  
  Volume 11 Issue 1 Pages 14003  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract A growing body of literature has recognized the non-thermal effect of pulsed microwave radiation (PMR) on bacterial systems. However, its mode of action in deactivating bacteria has not yet been extensively investigated. Nevertheless, it is highly important to advance the applications of PMR from simple to complex biological systems. In this study, we first optimized the conditions of the PMR device and we assessed the results by simulations, using ANSYS HFSS (High Frequency Structure Simulator) and a 3D particle-in-cell code for the electron behavior, to provide a better overview of the bacterial cell exposure to microwave radiation. To determine the sensitivity of PMR,<italic>Escherichia coli</italic> and<italic>Staphylococcus aureus</italic>cultures were exposed to PMR (pulse duration: 60 ns, peak frequency: 3.5 GHz) with power density of 17 kW/cm<sup>2</sup>at the free space of sample position, which would induce electric field of 8.0 kV/cm inside the PBS solution of falcon tube in this experiment at 25 °C. At various discharges (D) of microwaves, the colony forming unit curves were analyzed. The highest ratios of viable count reductions were observed when the doses were increased from 20D to 80D, which resulted in an approximate 6 log reduction in <italic>E. coli</italic>and 4 log reduction in<italic>S. aureus.</italic>Moreover, scanning electron microscopy also revealed surface damage in both bacterial strains after PMR exposure. The bacterial inactivation was attributed to the deactivation of oxidation-regulating genes and DNA damage.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000674547300011 Publication Date 2021-07-07  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2045-2322 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 4.259 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India, D.O.NO.BT/HRD/35/02/2006 ; National Research Foundation of Korea, NRF-2016K1A4A3914113 ; This research was supported by the National Research Foundation (NRF) of Korea, funded by the Korean government (MSIT) under the Grant Number NRF-2016K1A4A3914113, and in part by Kwangwoon University, Seoul, Korea, 2021. We also gratefully acknowledge the financial support obtained from Department of Biotechnology (DBT) Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship, India, Grant Number D.O.NO.BT/HRD/35/02/2006. Approved Most recent IF: 4.259  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:179844 Serial 6800  
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Author Oliveira, M.C.; Yusupov, M.; Cordeiro, R.M.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Unraveling the permeation of reactive species across nitrated membranes by computer simulations Type A1 Journal Article;Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Computers In Biology And Medicine Abbreviated Journal Comput Biol Med  
  Volume 136 Issue Pages 104768  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article;Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species; Nitro-oxidative stress; Molecular dynamics simulations; Nitrated membranes; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) are involved in many biochemical processes, including nitrooxidative stress that causes cancer cell death, observed in cancer therapies such as photodynamic therapy and cold atmospheric plasma. However, their mechanisms of action and selectivity still remain elusive due to the complexity of biological cells. For example, it is not well known how RONS generated by cancer therapies permeate the cell membrane to cause nitro-oxidative damage. There are many studies dedicated to the perme­ation of RONS across native and oxidized membranes, but not across nitrated membranes, another lipid product also generated during nitro-oxidative stress. Herein, we performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to calculate the free energy barrier of RONS permeation across nitrated membranes. Our results show that hy­drophilic RONS, such as hydroperoxyl radical (HO2) and peroxynitrous acid (ONOOH), have relatively low barriers compared to hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hydroxyl radical (HO), and are more prone to permeate the membrane than for the native or peroxidized membranes, and similar to aldehyde-oxidized membranes. Hy­drophobic RONS like molecular oxygen (O2), nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO) even have insignif­icant barriers for permeation. Compared to native and peroxidized membranes, nitrated membranes are more permeable, suggesting that we must not only consider oxidized membranes during nitro-oxidative stress, but also nitrated membranes, and their role in cancer therapies.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000696938800003 Publication Date 2021-08-17  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0010-4825 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 1.836 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes We thank University of Antwerp and Coordination of Superior Level Staff Improvement (CAPES, Brazil) for the scholarship granted and for providing the computational resources needed for completion of this work. M. Yusupov acknowledges the Flanders Research Foundation (grant 1200219N) for financial support. Approved Most recent IF: 1.836  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:181082 Serial 6807  
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Author Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Quantifying the impact of vibrational nonequilibrium in plasma catalysis: insights from a molecular dynamics model of dissociative chemisorption Type A1 Journal Article;plasma catalysis
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Journal Of Physics D-Applied Physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 54 Issue 39 Pages 394004  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article;plasma catalysis; vibrational nonequilibrium; dissociative chemisorption; free energy barriers; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract The rate, selectivity and efficiency of plasma-based conversion processes is strongly affected by nonequilibrium phenomena. High concentrations of vibrationally excited molecules are such a plasma-induced effect. It is frequently assumed that vibrationally excited molecules are important in plasma catalysis because their presence lowers the apparent activation energy of dissociative chemisorption reactions and thus increases the conversion rate. A detailed atomic-level understanding of vibrationally stimulated catalytic reactions in the context of plasma catalysis is however lacking. Here, we couple a recently developed statistical model of a plasma-induced vibrational nonequilibrium to molecular dynamics simulations, enhanced sampling methods, and machine learning techniques. We quantify the impact of a vibrational nonequilibrium on the dissociative chemisorption barrier of H2 and CH4 on nickel catalysts over a wide range of vibrational temperatures. We investigate the effect of surface structure and compare the role of different vibrational modes of methane in the dissociation process. For low vibrational temperatures, very high vibrational efficacies are found, and energy in bend vibrations appears to dominate the dissociation of methane. The relative impact of vibrational nonequilibrium is much higher on terrace sites than on surface steps. We then show how our simulations can help to interpret recent experimental results, and suggest new paths to a better understanding of plasma catalysis.  
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  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000674464100001 Publication Date 2021-09-30  
  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 OpenAccess  
  Notes Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, 12ZI420N ; K M B was funded as a junior postdoctoral fellow of the FWO (Research Foundation—Flanders), Grant 12ZI420N. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the HPC core facility CalcUA of the Universiteit Antwerpen, and VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center), funded by the FWO and the Flemish Government. HLDA calculations were performed with a script provided by G Piccini. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:179830 Serial 6808  
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Author Pietanza, L.D.; Guaitella, O.; Aquilanti, V.; Armenise, I.; Bogaerts, A.; Capitelli, M.; Colonna, G.; Guerra, V.; Engeln, R.; Kustova, E.; Lombardi, A.; Palazzetti, F.; Silva, T. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Advances in non-equilibrium $$\hbox {CO}_2$$ plasma kinetics: a theoretical and experimental review Type A1 Journal Article
  Year (up) 2021 Publication European Physical Journal D Abbreviated Journal Eur Phys J D  
  Volume 75 Issue 9 Pages 237  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract Numerous applications have required the study of CO2 plasmas since the 1960s, from CO2 lasers to spacecraft heat shields. However, in recent years, intense research activities on the subject have restarted because of environmental problems associated with CO2 emissions. The present review provides a synthesis of the current state of knowledge on the physical chemistry of cold CO2 plasmas. In particular, the different modeling approaches implemented to address specific aspects of CO2 plasmas are presented. Throughout the paper, the importance of conducting joint experimental, theoretical and modeling studies to elucidate the complex couplings at play in CO2 plasmas is emphasized. Therefore, the experimental data that are likely to bring relevant constraints to the different modeling approaches are first reviewed. Second, the calculation of some key elementary processes obtained with semi-empirical, classical and quantum methods is presented. In order to describe the electron kinetics, the latest coherent sets of cross section satisfying the constraints of “electron swarm” analyses are introduced, and the need for self-consistent calculations for determining accurate electron energy distribution function (EEDF) is evidenced. The main findings of the latest zero-dimensional (0D) global models about the complex chemistry of CO2 and its dissociation products in different plasma discharges are then given, and full state-to-state (STS) models of only the vibrational-dissociation kinetics developed for studies of spacecraft shields are described. Finally, two important points for all applications using CO2 containing plasma are discussed: the role of surfaces in contact with the plasma, and the need for 2D/3D models to capture the main features of complex reactor geometries including effects induced by fluid dynamics on the plasma properties. In addition to bringing together the latest advances in the description of CO2 non-equilibrium plasmas, the results presented here also highlight the fundamental data that are still missing and the possible routes that still need to be investigated.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000692394800001 Publication Date 2021-09-01  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1434-6060 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 1.288 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Russian Science Foundation, project 19-11-00041 ; Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, grant agreement 813393 grant agreement 813393 ; H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions, grant agreement 813393 grant agreement 813393 ; Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, UIDB/50010/2020 and UIDP/50010/2020 UIDB/50010/2020 and UIDP/50010/2020 ; Università degli Studi di Perugia, AMIS project (Dipartimenti di Eccellenza-2018-2022) Dipartimento di Chimica, Biologia e Biotecnologie (Fondo Ricerca di Base 2019 program)) ; agenzia spaziale italiana, ASI N. 2019-3-U.0 ; The work of Kustova is supported by the Russian Science Foundation, project 19-11-00041. The work of Guerra, Bogaerts, Engeln and Guaitella has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie SklodowskaCurie grant agreement No 813393, Guerra and Silva were partially funded by the Portuguese FCT – Fundação para Approved Most recent IF: 1.288  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:181081 Serial 6809  
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Author Engelmann, Y.; van ’t Veer, K.; Gorbanev, Y.; Neyts, E.C.; Schneider, W.F.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Plasma Catalysis for Ammonia Synthesis: A Microkinetic Modeling Study on the Contributions of Eley–Rideal Reactions Type A1 Journal Article;Plasma catalysis
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Acs Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Abbreviated Journal Acs Sustain Chem Eng  
  Volume 9 Issue 39 Pages 13151-13163  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article;Plasma catalysis; Eley−Rideal reactions; Volcano plots; Vibrational excitation; Radical reactions; Dielectric barrier discharge; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract Plasma catalysis is an emerging new technology for the electrification and downscaling of NH3 synthesis. Increasing attention is being paid to the optimization of plasma catalysis with respect to the plasma conditions, the catalyst material, and their mutual interaction. In this work we use microkinetic models to study how the total conversion process is impacted by the combination of different plasma conditions and transition metal catalysts. We study how plasma-generated radicals and vibrationally excited N2 (present in a dielectric barrier discharge plasma) interact with the catalyst and impact the NH3 turnover frequencies (TOFs). Both filamentary and uniform plasmas are studied, based on plasma chemistry models that provided plasma phase speciation and vibrational distribution functions. The Langmuir−Hinshelwood reaction rate coefficients (i.e., adsorption reactions and subsequent reactions among adsorbates) are determined using conventional scaling relations. An additional set of Eley−Rideal reactions (i.e., direct reactions of plasma radicals with adsorbates) was added and a sensitivity analysis on the assumed reaction rate coefficients was performed. We first show the impact of different vibrational distribution functions on the catalytic dissociation of N2 and subsequent production of NH3, and we gradually include more radical reactions, to illustrate the contribution of these species and their corresponding reaction pathways. Analysis over a large range of catalysts indicates that different transition metals (metals such as Rh, Ni, Pt, and Pd) optimize the NH3TOFs depending on the population of the vibrational levels of N2. At higher concentrations of plasma-generated radicals, the NH3 TOFs become less dependent on the catalyst material, due to radical adsorptions on the more noble catalysts and Eley−Rideal reactions on the less noble catalysts.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000705367800004 Publication Date 2021-10-04  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2168-0485 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 5.951 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Basic Energy Sciences, DE-SC0021107 ; Vlaamse regering, HBC.2019.0108 ; H2020 European Research Council, 810182 ; Methusalem project – University of Antwerp; Excellence of science FWO-FNRS, GoF9618n ; TOP-BOF – University of Antwerp; DOCPRO3 – University of Antwerp; We acknowledge the financial support from the DOC-PRO3, the TOP-BOF, and the Methusalem project of the University of Antwerp, as well as from the European Research Council (ERC) (grant agreement No, 810182−SCOPE ERC Synergy project), under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, the Flemish Government through the Moonshot cSBO project P2C (HBC.2019.0108), and the Excellence of Science FWO-FNRS project (FWO grant ID GoF9618n, EOS ID 30505023). Calculations were carried out using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (Department EWI), 13162 Approved Most recent IF: 5.951  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:182482 Serial 6811  
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Author Vanraes, P.; Parayil Venugopalan, S.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Multiscale modeling of plasma–surface interaction—General picture and a case study of Si and SiO2etching by fluorocarbon-based plasmas Type A1 Journal Article
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Applied Physics Reviews Abbreviated Journal Appl Phys Rev  
  Volume 8 Issue 4 Pages 041305  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract The physics and chemistry of plasma–surface interaction is a broad domain relevant to various applications and several natural processes, including plasma etching for microelectronics fabrication, plasma deposition, surface functionalization, nanomaterial synthesis, fusion reactors, and some astrophysical and meteorological phenomena. Due to their complex nature, each of these processes is generally investigated in separate subdomains, which are considered to have their own theoretical, modeling, and experimental challenges. In this review, however, we want to emphasize the overarching nature of plasma–surface interaction physics and chemistry, by focusing on the general strategy for its computational simulation. In the first half of the review, we provide a menu card with standard and less standardized computational methods to be used for the multiscale modeling of the underlying processes. In the second half, we illustrate the benefits and potential of the multiscale modeling strategy with a case study of Si and SiO2 etching by fluorocarbon plasmas and identify the gaps in knowledge still present on this intensely investigated plasma–material combination, both on a qualitative and quantitative level. Remarkably, the dominant etching mechanisms remain the least understood. The resulting new insights are of general relevance, for all plasmas and materials, including their various applications. We therefore hope to motivate computational and experimental scientists and engineers to collaborate more intensely on filling the existing gaps in knowledge. In this way, we expect that research will overcome a bottleneck stage in the development and optimization of multiscale models, and thus the fundamental understanding of plasma–surface interaction.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000754799700001 Publication Date 2021-10-07  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 1931-9401 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 13.667 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Asml; P. Vanraes acknowledges funding by ASML for the project “Computational simulation of plasma etching of trench structures.” P. Vanraes wishes to thank Violeta Georgieva and Stefan Tinck for the fruitful discussions on the HPEM code, Yu-Ru Zhang for an example of the CCP reactor code, and Karel Venken for his technical help with the server maintenance and use. P. Vanraes and A. Bogaerts want to express their gratitude to Mark J. Kushner (University of Michigan) for the sharing of the HPEM and MCFPM codes and for the interesting exchange of views. S. P. Venugopalan wishes to thank Sander Wuister, Coen Verschuren, Michael Kubis, Mohammad Kamali, Approved Most recent IF: 13.667  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:183287 Serial 6814  
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Author Gorbanev, Y.; Engelmann, Y.; van’t Veer, K.; Vlasov, E.; Ndayirinde, C.; Yi, Y.; Bals, S.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Al2O3-Supported Transition Metals for Plasma-Catalytic NH3 Synthesis in a DBD Plasma: Metal Activity and Insights into Mechanisms Type A1 Journal article
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Catalysts Abbreviated Journal Catalysts  
  Volume 11 Issue 10 Pages 1230  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Movement Antwerp (MOVANT)  
  Abstract N2 fixation into NH3 is one of the main processes in the chemical industry. Plasma catalysis is among the environmentally friendly alternatives to the industrial energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. However, many questions remain open, such as the applicability of the conventional catalytic knowledge to plasma. In this work, we studied the performance of Al2O3-supported Fe, Ru, Co and Cu catalysts in plasma-catalytic NH3 synthesis in a DBD reactor. We investigated the effects of different active metals, and different ratios of the feed gas components, on the concentration and production rate of NH3, and the energy consumption of the plasma system. The results show that the trend of the metal activity (common for thermal catalysis) does not appear in the case of plasma catalysis: here, all metals exhibited similar performance. These findings are in good agreement with our recently published microkinetic model. This highlights the virtual independence of NH3 production on the metal catalyst material, thus validating the model and indicating the potential contribution of radical adsorption and Eley-Rideal reactions to the plasma-catalytic mechanism of NH3 synthesis.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000715656300001 Publication Date 2021-10-13  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2073-4344 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 3.082 Times cited 19 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Catalisti, Moonshot P2C ; Research Foundation – Flanders, GoF9618n ; European Research Council, 810182 SCOPE 815128 REALNANO ; sygmaSB Approved Most recent IF: 3.082  
  Call Number EMAT @ emat @c:irua:183279 Serial 6815  
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Author Van Loenhout, J.; Freire Boullosa, L.; Quatannens, D.; De Waele, J.; Merlin, C.; Lambrechts, H.; Lau, H.W.; Hermans, C.; Lin, A.; Lardon, F.; Peeters, M.; Bogaerts, A.; Smits, E.; Deben, C. url  doi
openurl 
  Title Auranofin and Cold Atmospheric Plasma Synergize to Trigger Distinct Cell Death Mechanisms and Immunogenic Responses in Glioblastoma Type A1 Journal Article;oxidative stress
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Cells Abbreviated Journal Cells  
  Volume 10 Issue 11 Pages 2936  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article;oxidative stress; auranofin; cold atmospheric plasma; glioblastoma; cancer cell death; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract Targeting the redox balance of malignant cells via the delivery of high oxidative stress unlocks a potential therapeutic strategy against glioblastoma (GBM). We investigated a novel reactive oxygen species (ROS)-inducing combination treatment strategy, by increasing exogenous ROS via cold atmospheric plasma and inhibiting the endogenous protective antioxidant system via auranofin (AF), a thioredoxin reductase 1 (TrxR) inhibitor. The sequential combination treatment of AF and cold atmospheric plasma-treated PBS (pPBS), or AF and direct plasma application, resulted in a synergistic response in 2D and 3D GBM cell cultures, respectively. Differences in the baseline protein levels related to the antioxidant systems explained the cell-line-dependent sensitivity towards the combination treatment. The highest decrease of TrxR activity and GSH levels was observed after combination treatment of AF and pPBS when compared to AF and pPBS monotherapies. This combination also led to the highest accumulation of intracellular ROS. We confirmed a ROS-mediated response to the combination of AF and pPBS, which was able to induce distinct cell death mechanisms. On the one hand, an increase in caspase-3/7 activity, with an increase in the proportion of annexin V positive cells, indicates the induction of apoptosis in the GBM cells. On the other hand, lipid peroxidation and inhibition of cell death through an iron chelator suggest the involvement of ferroptosis in the GBM cell lines. Both cell death mechanisms induced by the combination of AF and pPBS resulted in a significant increase in danger signals (ecto-calreticulin, ATP and HMGB1) and dendritic cell maturation, indicating a potential increase in immunogenicity, although the phagocytotic capacity of dendritic cells was inhibited by AF. In vivo, sequential combination treatment of AF and cold atmospheric plasma both reduced tumor growth kinetics and prolonged survival in GBM-bearing mice. Thus, our study provides a novel therapeutic strategy for GBM to enhance the efficacy of oxidative stress-inducing therapy through a combination of AF and cold atmospheric plasma.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000807134000001 Publication Date 2021-10-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2073-4409 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Olivia Hendrickx Research Fund, 21OCL06 ; University of Antwerp, FFB160231 ; The authors would express their gratitude to Hans de Reu for technical assistance with flow cytometry. Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:182915 Serial 6826  
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Author Van Alphen, S.; Slaets, J.; Ceulemans, S.; Aghaei, M.; Snyders, R.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Effect of N2 on CO2-CH4 conversion in a gliding arc plasmatron: Can this major component in industrial emissions improve the energy efficiency? Type A1 Journal Article;Plasma-based CO2-CH4 conversion
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Journal Of Co2 Utilization Abbreviated Journal J Co2 Util  
  Volume 54 Issue Pages 101767  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article;Plasma-based CO2-CH4 conversion; Effect of N2; Plasma chemistry; Computational modelling; Gliding arc plasmatron; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract Plasma-based CO2 and CH4 conversion is gaining increasing interest, and a great portion of research is dedicated to adapting the process to actual industrial conditions. In an industrial context, the process needs to be able to process N2 admixtures, since most industrial gas emissions contain significant amounts of N2, and gas separations are financially costly. In this paper we therefore investigate the effect of N2 on the CO2 and CH4 conversion in a gliding arc plasmatron reactor. The addition of 20 % N2 reduces the energy cost of the conversion process by 21 % compared to a pure CO2/CH4 mixture, from 2.9 down to 2.2 eV/molec (or from 11.5 to 8.7 kJ/L), yielding a CO2 and CH4 (absolute) conversion of 28.6 and 35.9 % and an energy efficiency of 58 %. These results are among the best reported in literature for plasma-based DRM, demonstrating the benefits of N2 present in the mix. Compared to DRM results in different plasma reactor types, a low energy cost was achieved. To understand the underlying mechanisms of N2 addition, we developed a combination of four different computational models, which reveal that the beneficial effect of N2 addition is attributed to (i) a rise in the electron density (increasing the plasma conductivity, and therefore reducing the plasma power needed to sustain the plasma, which reduces the energy cost), as well as (ii) a rise in the gas temperature, which accelerates the CO2 and CH4 conversion reactions.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000715057300005 Publication Date 2021-10-28  
  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 This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innova­ tion programme (grant agreement No 810182 – SCOPE ERC Synergy project), the Excellence of Science FWO-FNRS project (FWO grant ID GoF9618n, EOS ID 30505023), and through long-term structural fund­ing (Methusalem). The calculations were performed using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Ant­werpen (UAntwerpen), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UAntwerpen. Approved Most recent IF: 4.292  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:184044 Serial 6827  
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Author Bruggeman, P.J.; Bogaerts, A.; Pouvesle, J.M.; Robert, E.; Szili, E.J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Plasma–liquid interactions Type A1 Journal Article
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Journal Of Applied Physics Abbreviated Journal J Appl Phys  
  Volume 130 Issue 20 Pages 200401  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos Publication Date 2021-11-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0021-8979 ISBN Additional Links UA library record  
  Impact Factor 2.068 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.068  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:184245 Serial 6830  
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Author Kelly, S.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Nitrogen fixation in an electrode-free microwave plasma Type A1 Journal Article
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Joule Abbreviated Journal Joule  
  Volume 5 Issue 11 Pages 3006-3030  
  Keywords A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ;  
  Abstract Plasma-based gas conversion has great potential for enabling carbon-free fertilizer production powered by renewable electricity. Sustaining an energy-efficient plasma process without eroding the containment vessel is currently a significant challenge, limiting scaling to higher powers and throughputs. Isolation of the plasma from contact with any solid surfaces is an advantage, which both limits energy loss to the walls and prevents material erosion that could lead to disastrous soil contamination. This paper presents highly energy-efficient nitrogen fixation from air into NOx by microwave plasma, with the plasma filament isolated at the center of a quartz tube using a vortex gas flow. NOx production is found to scale very efficiently when increasing both gas flow rate and absorbed power. The lowest energy cost recorded of ~2 MJ/mol, for a total NOx production of ~3.8%, is the lowest reported up to now for atmospheric pressure plasmas.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000723010700018 Publication Date 2021-10-26  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2542-4351 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes We acknowledge financial support by the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship ‘‘PENFIX’’ within Horizon 2020 (grant no. 838181), the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no 810182 – SCOPE ERC Synergy project), and the Excellence of Science FWO-FNRS project (FWO grant ID GoF9618n, EOS ID 30505023). The calculations were performed using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UAntwerpen), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Centre VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UAntwerpen. We thank Dr. Waldo Bongers and Dr. Floran Peeters of the DIFFER institute for their help and advice in the initial phase of the project, as well as Mr. Luc van‘t Dack, Dr. Karen Leyssens and Ing. Karel Venken for their technical assistance. We thank Dr. Klaus Werner, executive director of the RF Energy Alliance, for his extensive expertise and helpful discourse regarding solid-state MW technology. Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:184250 Serial 6835  
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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 (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:184137 Serial 6857  
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Author Biswas, A.N.; Winter, L.R.; Loenders, B.; Xie, Z.; Bogaerts, A.; Chen, J.G. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Oxygenate Production from Plasma-Activated Reaction of CO2and Ethane Type A1 Journal article
  Year (up) 2021 Publication Acs Energy Letters Abbreviated Journal Acs Energy Lett  
  Volume Issue Pages 236-241  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Upgrading ethane with CO2 as a soft oxidant represents a desirable means of obtaining oxygenated hydrocarbons. This reaction is not thermodynamically feasible under mild conditions and has not been previously achieved as a one-step process. Nonthermal plasma was implemented as an alternative means of supplying energy to overcome activation barriers, leading to the production of alcohols, aldehydes, and acids as well as C1−C5+ hydrocarbons under ambient pressure, with a maximum total oxygenate selectivity of 12%. A plasma chemical kinetic computational model was developed and found to be in good agreement with the experimental trends. Results from this study illustrate the potential to use plasma for the direct synthesis of value-added alcohols, acids, and aldehydes from ethane and CO2 under mild conditions.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000732435700001 Publication Date 2021-12-14  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 2380-8195 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor Times cited Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Basic Energy Sciences, DE-SC0012704 ; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, S001619N ; H2020 European Research Council, 810182 ; National Science Foundation, DGE 16-44869 ; This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Catalysis Science Program (grant no. DE-SC0012704). L.R.W. acknowledges the U.S. National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program grant number DGE 16-44869. B.L. and A.B. acknowledge support from the FWO-SBO project PLASMA240 Approved Most recent IF: NA  
  Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:184812 Serial 6897  
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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 (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:184717 Serial 7413  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Zhang, L. openurl 
  Title Characteristic diagnosis of atmospheric discharge plasma and kinetics study of reactive species Type Doctoral thesis
  Year (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:183166 Serial 7605  
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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 (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:178393 Serial 7729  
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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 (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:181538 Serial 7805  
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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 (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:183751 Serial 7828  
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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 (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:182579 Serial 7914  
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Author Cui, Z. file  openurl
  Title Experimental and theoretical study on SF6 degradation by packed-bed DBD plasma Type Doctoral thesis
  Year (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:180819 Serial 7946  
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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 (up) 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 UA @ admin @ c:irua:187245 Serial 7974  
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