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Author Ozkan, A.; Dufour, T.; Bogaerts, A.; Reniers, F.
Title How do the barrier thickness and dielectric material influence the filamentary mode and CO2conversion in a flowing DBD? Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Plasma sources science and technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T
Volume 25 Issue 25 Pages 045016
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) are commonly used to generate cold plasmas at

atmospheric pressure. Whatever their configuration (tubular or planar), the presence of a dielectric barrier is mandatory to prevent too much charge build up in the plasma and the formation of a thermal arc. In this article, the role of the barrier thickness (2.0, 2.4 and 2.8 mm) and of the kind of dielectric material (alumina, mullite, pyrex, quartz) is investigated on the filamentary behavior in the plasma and on the CO2 conversion in a tubular flowing DBD, by means of mass spectrometry measurements correlated with electrical characterization and IR imaging. Increasing the barrier thickness decreases the capacitance, while preserving the electrical charge. As a result, the voltage over the dielectric increases and a larger number of microdischarges is generated, which enhances the CO2 conversion. Furthermore, changing the dielectric material of the barrier, while keeping the same geometry and dimensions, also affects the CO2 conversion. The highest CO2 conversion and energy efficiency are obtained for quartz and alumina, thus not following the trend of the relative permittivity. From the

electrical characterization, we clearly demonstrate that the most important parameters are the somewhat higher effective plasma voltage (yielding a somewhat higher electric field and electron energy in the plasma) for quartz, as well as the higher plasma current (and thus larger electron density) and the larger number of microdischarge filaments (mainly for alumina, but also for quartz). The latter could be correlated to the higher surface roughness for alumina and to the higher voltage over the dielectric for quartz.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000380380200030 Publication Date 2016-06-30
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 0963-0252 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited 24 Open Access
Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the IAPVII/ 12, P7/34 (Inter-university Attraction Pole) program ‘PSI-Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions’, financially supported by the Belgian Federal Office for Science Policy (BELSPO). A. Ozkan would like to thank the financial support given by ‘Fonds David et Alice Van Buuren’. Approved Most recent IF: 3.302
Call Number c:irua:134396 Serial 4100
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Author Berthelot, A.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Modeling of plasma-based CO2conversion: lumping of the vibrational levels Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Plasma sources science and technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T
Volume 25 Issue 25 Pages 045022
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Although CO2 conversion by plasma technology is gaining increasing interest, the

underlying mechanisms for an energy-efficient process are still far from understood. In this work, a reduced non-equilibrium CO2 plasma chemistry set, based on level lumping of the vibrational levels, is proposed and the reliability of this level-lumping method is tested by a self-consistent zero-dimensional code. A severe reduction of the number of equations to be solved is achieved, which is crucial to be able to model non-equilibrium CO2 plasmas by 2-dimensional models. Typical conditions of pressure and power used in a microwave plasma for CO2 conversion are investigated. Several different sets, using different numbers of lumped groups, are considered. The lumped models with 1, 2 or 3 groups are able to reproduce the gas temperature, electron density and electron temperature profiles, as calculated by the full model treating all individual excited levels, in the entire pressure range investigated. Furthermore, a 3-groups model is also able to reproduce the shape of the vibrational distribution function (VDF) and gives the most reliable prediction of the CO2 conversion. A strong influence of the vibrational excitation on the plasma characteristics is observed. Finally, the limitations of the lumped-levels method are discussed.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000380380200036 Publication Date 2016-07-08
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 0963-0252 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited 33 Open Access
Notes This project has received funding from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no 606889 and it was also carried out in the framework of the network on Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions—Interuniversity Attraction Poles, phase VII (PSI-IAP7) supported by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO). 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. Approved Most recent IF: 3.302
Call Number c:irua:134397 Serial 4101
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Author Bal, K.M.; Neyts, E.C.
Title Direct observation of realistic-temperature fuel combustion mechanisms in atomistic simulations Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Chemical science Abbreviated Journal Chem Sci
Volume 7 Issue 7 Pages 5280-5286
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Atomistic simulations can in principle provide an unbiased description of all mechanisms, intermediates, and products of complex chemical processes. However, due to the severe time scale limitation of conventional simulation techniques, unrealistically high simulation temperatures are usually applied, which are a poor approximation of most practically relevant low-temperature applications. In this work, we demonstrate the direct observation at the atomic scale of the pyrolysis and oxidation of n-dodecane at temperatures as low as 700 K through the use of a novel simulation technique, collective variable-driven hyperdynamics (CVHD). A simulated timescale of up to 39 seconds is reached. Product compositions and dominant mechanisms are found to be strongly temperature-dependent, and are consistent with experiments and kinetic models. These simulations provide a first atomic-level look at the full dynamics of the complicated fuel combustion process at industrially relevant temperatures and time scales, unattainable by conventional molecular dynamics simulations.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000380893900059 Publication Date 2016-05-05
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 2041-6520 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 8.668 Times cited 22 Open Access
Notes K. M. B. is funded as PhD fellow (aspirant) of the FWO-Flanders (Fund for Scientic Research-Flanders), Grant 11V8915N. The computational resources and services used in this work were provided by the VSC (Flemish Supercomputer Center) and the HPC infrastructure of the University of Antwerp (CalcUA), funded by the Hercules Foundation and the Flemish Government – department EWI. The authors would also like to thank S. Banerjee for assisting with the interpretation of the experimental results. Approved Most recent IF: 8.668
Call Number c:irua:134577 c:irua:135670 Serial 4105
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Author Ozkan, A.; Dufour, T.; Silva, T.; Britun, N.; Snyders, R.; Reniers, F.; Bogaerts, A.
Title DBD in burst mode: solution for more efficient CO2conversion? Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Plasma sources science and technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T
Volume 25 Issue 25 Pages 055005
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract CO2 conversion into value-added products has gained significant interest over the few last years, as the greenhouse gas concentrations constantly increase due to anthropogenic activities. Here we report on experiments for CO2 conversion by means of a cold atmospheric plasma using a cylindrical flowing dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor. A detailed comparison of this DBD ignited in a so-called burst mode (i.e. where an AC voltage is applied during a limited amount of time) and pure AC mode is carried out to evaluate their effect on the conversion of CO2 as well as on the energy efficiency. Decreasing the duty cycle in the burst mode from 100% (i.e. corresponding to pure AC mode) to 40% leads to a rise in the

conversion from 16–26% and to a rise in the energy efficiency from 15 to 23%. Based on a detailed electrical analysis, we show that the conversion correlates with the features of the microfilaments. Moreover, the root-mean-square voltage in the burst mode remains constant as a function of the process time for the duty cycles <70%, while a higher duty cycle or the usual pure AC mode leads to a clear voltage decay by more than 500 V, over approximately 90 s, before reaching a steady state regime. The higher plasma voltage in the burst mode yields a higher electric field. This causes the increasing the electron energy, and therefore their

involvement in the CO2 dissociation process, which is an additional explanation for the higher CO2 conversion and energy efficiency in the burst mode.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000403945500005 Publication Date 2016-08-02
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1361-6595 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited 17 Open Access
Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the IAPVII/ 12, P7/34 (Inter-university Attraction Pole) program ‘PSI-Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions’, financially supported by the Belgian Federal Office for Science Policy (BELSPO). A. Ozkan would also like to thank financial support given by ‘Fonds David et Alice Van Buuren’. Approved Most recent IF: 3.302
Call Number c:irua:134841 Serial 4107
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Author Tinck, S.; Tillocher, T.; Dussart, R.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Elucidating the effects of gas flow rate on an SF6inductively coupled plasma and on the silicon etch rate, by a combined experimental and theoretical investigation Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys
Volume 49 Issue 49 Pages 385201
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Experiments show that the etch rate of Si with SF6 inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is significantly influenced by the absolute gas flow rate in the range of 50–600 sccm, with a maximum at around 200 sccm. Therefore, we numerically investigate the effects of the gas flow rate on the bulk plasma properties and on the etch rate, to obtain more insight in the underlying reasons of this effect. A hybrid Monte Carlo—fluid model is applied to simulate an SF6 ICP. It is found that the etch rate is influenced by two simultaneous effects: (i) the residence time of the gas and (ii) the temperature profile of the plasma in the ICP volume, resulting indeed in a maximum etch rate at 200 sccm.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000384095900011 Publication Date 2016-08-24
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 1 Open Access
Notes We are very grateful to Mark Kushner for providing the computational model. The Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO; grant no. 0880.212.840) is acknowledged for financial support of this work. The work was carried out in part 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) and the University of Antwerp. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588
Call Number c:irua:134867 Serial 4108
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Author Bogaerts, A.; Wang, W.; Berthelot, A.; Guerra, V.
Title Modeling plasma-based CO2conversion: crucial role of the dissociation cross section Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Plasma sources science and technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T
Volume 25 Issue 25 Pages 055016
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Plasma-based CO2 conversion is gaining increasing interest worldwide. A large research effort is devoted to improving the energy efficiency. For this purpose, it is very important to understand the underlying mechanisms of the CO2 conversion. The latter can be obtained by computer modeling, describing in detail the behavior of the various plasma species and all relevant chemical processes. However, the accuracy of the modeling results critically depends on the accuracy of the assumed input data, like cross sections. This is especially true for the cross section of electron impact dissociation, as the latter process is believed

to proceed through electron impact excitation, but it is not clear from the literature which excitation channels effectively lead to dissociation. Therefore, the present paper discusses the effect of different electron impact dissociation cross sections reported in the literature on the calculated CO2 conversion, for a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) and a microwave (MW) plasma. Comparison is made to experimental data for the DBD case, to elucidate which cross section might be the most realistic. This comparison reveals that the cross sections proposed

by Itikawa and by Polak and Slovetsky both seem to underestimate the CO2 conversion. The cross sections recommended by Phelps with thresholds of 7 eV and 10.5 eV yield a CO2 conversion only slightly lower than the experimental data, but the sum of both cross sections overestimates the values, indicating that these cross sections represent dissociation, but most probably also include other (pure excitation) channels. Our calculations indicate that the choice of the electron impact dissociation cross section is crucial for the DBD, where this process is the dominant mechanism for CO2 conversion. In the MW plasma, it is only significant at pressures up to 100 mbar, while it is of minor importance for higher pressures, when dissociation proceeds mainly through collisions of CO2 with heavy particles.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000384030600001 Publication Date 2016-08-31
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1361-6595 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited 57 Open Access
Notes The authors would like to thank R Snoeckx and S Heijkers for the interesting discussions. This research was supported by the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research, technological development and demonstration under grant agreement no. 606889, the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship project ‘GlidArc’ within Horizon2020, the FWO project (grant G.0383.16N), and the Network on Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions—Interuniversity Attraction Poles, phase VII (PSI-IAP7), supported by the Belgian Science Policy Office (BELSPO). 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. VG was partially supported by the Portuguese FCT— Fundação para a Ci Approved Most recent IF: 3.302
Call Number c:irua:135070 Serial 4111
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Author Wang, W.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Effective ionisation coefficients and critical breakdown electric field of CO2at elevated temperature: effect of excited states and ion kinetics Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Plasma sources science and technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T
Volume 25 Issue 25 Pages 055025
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Electrical breakdown by the application of an electric field occurs more easily in hot gases than in cold gases because of the extra electron-species interactions that occur as a result of dissociation, ionization and excitation at higher temperature. This paper discusses some overlooked physics and clarifies inaccuracies in the evaluation of the effective ionization coefficients and the critical reduced breakdown electric field of CO2 at elevated temperature, considering the influence of excited states and ion kinetics. The critical reduced breakdown electric field is obtained by balancing electron generation and loss mechanisms using the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) derived from the Boltzmann transport equation under the two-term approximation. The equilibrium compositions of the hot gas mixtures are determined based on Gibbs free energy minimization considering the ground states as well as vibrationally and electronically excited states as independent species, which follow a Boltzmann distribution with a fixed excitation temperature. The interaction cross sections between electrons and the excited species, not reported previously, are properly taken into account. Furthermore, the ion kinetics, including electron–ion recombination, associative electron detachment, charge transfer and ion conversion into stable negative ion clusters, are also considered. Our results indicate that the excited species lead to a greater population of high-energy electrons at higher gas temperature and this affects the Townsend rate coefficients (i.e. of electron impact ionization and attachment), but the critical reduced breakdown electric field strength of CO2 is only affected when also properly accounting for the ion kinetics. Indeed, the latter greatly influences the effective ionization coefficients and hence the critical reduced breakdown electric field at temperatures above 1500 K. The rapid increase of the dissociative electron attachment cross-section of molecular oxygen with rising vibrational quantum number leads to a larger electron loss rate and this enhances the critical reduced breakdown electric field strength in the temperature range where the concentration of molecular oxygen is relatively high. The results obtained in this work show reasonable agreement with experimental results from literature, and are important for the evaluation of the dielectric strength of CO2 in a highly reactive environment at elevated temperature.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000385494000006 Publication Date 2016-09-22
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1361-6595 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited 3 Open Access
Notes Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship ‘GlidArc’ within Horizon2020 (Grant No.657304) and the FWO project (grant G.0383.16N). 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. Approved Most recent IF: 3.302
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:135515 Serial 4281
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Bogaerts, A.
Title Glow discharge optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry Type H1 Book chapter
Year 2016 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages 1-31
Keywords H1 Book chapter; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Atomic Spectroscopy Optical (atomic absorption spectroscopy, AAS; atomic emission spectroscopy, AES; atomic fluorescence spectroscopy, AFS; and optogalvanic spectroscopy) and mass spectrometric (magnetic sector, quadrupole mass analyzer, QMA; quadrupole ion trap, QIT; Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance, FTICR; and time-of-flight, TOF) instrumentation are well suited for coupling to the glow discharge (GD). The GD is a relatively simple device. A potential gradient (500–1500 V) is applied between an anode and a cathode. In most cases, the sample is also the cathode. A noble gas (mostly Ar) is introduced into the discharge region before power initiation. When a potential is applied, electrons are accelerated toward the anode. As these electrons accelerate, they collide with gas atoms. A fraction of these collisions are of sufficient energy to remove an electron from a support gas atom, forming an ion. These ions are, in turn, accelerated toward the cathode. These ions impinge on the surface of the cathode, sputtering sample atoms from the surface. Sputtered atoms that do not redeposit on the surface diffuse into the excitation/ionization regions of the plasma where they can undergo excitation and/or ionization via a number of collisional processes, and the photons or ions created in this way can be detected with optical emission spectroscopy or mass spectrometry. GD sources offer a number of distinct advantages that make them well suited for specific types of analyses. These sources afford direct analysis of solid samples, thus minimizing the sample preparation required for analysis. The nature of the plasma also provides mutually exclusive atomization and excitation processes that help to minimize the matrix effects that plague so many other elemental techniques. In recent years, there is also increasing interest for using GD sources for liquid and gas analyses. In this article, first, the principles of operation of the GD plasma are reviewed, with an emphasis on how those principles relate to optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Basic applications of the GD techniques are considered next. These include bulk analysis, surface analysis, and the analysis of solution and gaseous samples. The requirements necessary to obtain optical information are addressed following the analytical applications. This article focuses on the instrumentation needed to make optical measurements using the GD as an atomization/excitation source. Finally, mass spectrometric instrumentation and interfaces are addressed as they pertain to the use of a GD plasma as an ion source. GD sources provide analytically useful gas-phase species from solid samples. These sources can be interfaced with a variety of spectroscopic and spectrometric instruments for both quantitative and qualitative analyses.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher John Wiley & Sons Place of Publication Chichester Editor
Language Wos Publication Date 0000-00-00
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN ISBN 978-0-470-02731-8 Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:132064 Serial 4187
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Bogaerts, A.
Title Glow discharge optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Abbreviated Journal
Volume Issue Pages
Keywords A1 Journal article; PLASMANT
Abstract Atomic Spectroscopy Optical (atomic absorption spectroscopy, AAS; atomic emission spectroscopy, AES; atomic fluorescence spectroscopy, AFS; and optogalvanic spectroscopy) and mass spectrometric (magnetic sector, quadrupole mass analyzer, QMA; quadrupole ion trap, QIT; Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance, FTICR; and time-of-flight, TOF) instrumentation are well suited for coupling to the glow discharge (GD). The GD is a relatively simple device. A potential gradient (500–1500 V) is applied between an anode and a cathode. In most cases, the sample is also the cathode. A noble gas (mostly Ar) is introduced into the discharge region before power initiation. When a potential is applied, electrons are accelerated toward the anode. As these electrons accelerate, they collide with gas atoms. A fraction of these collisions are of sufficient energy to remove an electron from a support gas atom, forming an ion. These ions are, in turn, accelerated toward the cathode. These ions impinge on the surface of the cathode, sputtering sample atoms from the surface. Sputtered atoms that do not redeposit on the surface diffuse into the excitation/ionization regions of the plasma where they can undergo excitation and/or ionization via a number of collisional processes, and the photons or ions created in this way can be detected with optical emission spectroscopy or mass spectrometry. GD sources offer a number of distinct advantages that make them well suited for specific types of analyses. These sources afford direct analysis of solid samples, thus minimizing the sample preparation required for analysis. The nature of the plasma also provides mutually exclusive atomization and excitation processes that help to minimize the matrix effects that plague so many other elemental techniques. In recent years, there is also increasing interest for using GD sources for liquid and gas analyses. In this article, first, the principles of operation of the GD plasma are reviewed, with an emphasis on how those principles relate to optical spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. Basic applications of the GD techniques are considered next. These include bulk analysis, surface analysis, and the analysis of solution and gaseous samples. The requirements necessary to obtain optical information are addressed following the analytical applications. This article focuses on the instrumentation needed to make optical measurements using the GD as an atomization/excitation source. Finally, mass spectrometric instrumentation and interfaces are addressed as they pertain to the use of a GD plasma as an ion source. GD sources provide analytically useful gas-phase species from solid samples. These sources can be interfaced with a variety of spectroscopic and spectrometric instruments for both quantitative and qualitative analyses.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos Publication Date 2006-09-11
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN ISBN Additional Links
Impact Factor Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved Most recent IF: NA
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ Serial 4282
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Attri, P.; Yusupov, M.; Park, J.H.; Lingamdinne, L.P.; Koduru, J.R.; Shiratani, M.; Choi, E.H.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Mechanism and comparison of needle-type non-thermal direct and indirect atmospheric pressure plasma jets on the degradation of dyes Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Scientific reports Abbreviated Journal Sci Rep-Uk
Volume 6 Issue 6 Pages 34419
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Purified water supply for human use, agriculture and industry is the major global priority nowadays. The advanced oxidation process based on atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma (NTP) has been used for purification of wastewater, although the underlying mechanisms of degradation of organic pollutants are still unknown. In this study we employ two needle-type atmospheric pressure non-thermal plasma jets, i.e., indirect (ID-APPJ) and direct (D-APPJ) jets operating at Ar feed gas, for the treatment of methylene blue, methyl orange and congo red dyes, for two different times (i.e., 20 min and 30 min). Specifically, we study the decolorization/degradation of all three dyes using the above mentioned plasma sources, by means of UV-Vis spectroscopy, HPLC and a density meter. We also employ mass spectroscopy to verify whether only decolorization or also degradation takes place after treatment of the dyes by the NTP jets. Additionally, we analyze the interaction of OH radicals with all three dyes using reactive molecular dynamics simulations, based on the density functional-tight binding method. This investigation represents the first report on the degradation of these three different dyes by two types of NTP setups, analyzed by various methods, and based on both experimental and computational studies.
Address Research Group PLASMANT, Department of Chemistry, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, B-2610 Antwerp, Belgium
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Wos 000385172300001 Publication Date 2016-10-06
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 2045-2322 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.259 Times cited 23 Open Access
Notes We gratefully acknowledge the grant received from the SRC program of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Korean Government (MEST) (No. 20100029418). PA is thankful to FY 2015 Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) invitation fellowship. This work was partly supported by MEXT KAKENHI Grant Number 24108009 and JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP16H03895. M. Y. gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), grant number 1200216N. 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. Approved Most recent IF: 4.259
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:135847 Serial 4283
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Author Wang, W.; Berthelot, A.; Kolev, S.; Tu, X.; Bogaerts, A.
Title CO2 conversion in a gliding arc plasma: 1D cylindrical discharge model Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Plasma sources science and technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T
Volume 25 Issue 25 Pages 065012
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract CO 2 conversion by a gliding arc plasma is gaining increasing interest, but the underlying mechanisms for an energy-efficient process are still far from understood. Indeed, the chemical complexity of the non-equilibrium plasma poses a challenge for plasma modeling due to the huge computational load. In this paper, a one-dimensional (1D) gliding arc model is developed in a cylindrical frame, with a detailed non-equilibrium CO 2 plasma chemistry set, including the CO 2 vibrational kinetics up to the dissociation limit. The model solves a set of time- dependent continuity equations based on the chemical reactions, as well as the electron energy balance equation, and it assumes quasi-neutrality in the plasma. The loss of plasma species and heat due to convection by the transverse gas flow is accounted for by using a characteristic frequency of convective cooling, which depends on the gliding arc radius, the relative velocity of the gas flow with respect to the arc and on the arc elongation rate. The calculated values for plasma density and plasma temperature within this work are comparable with experimental data on gliding arc plasma reactors in the literature. Our calculation results indicate that excitation to the vibrational levels promotes efficient dissociation in the gliding arc, and this is consistent with experimental investigations of the gliding arc based CO 2 conversion in the literature. Additionally, the dissociation of CO 2 through collisions with O atoms has the largest contribution to CO 2 splitting under the conditions studied. In addition to the above results, we also demonstrate that lumping the CO 2 vibrational states can bring a significant reduction of the computational load. The latter opens up the way for 2D or 3D models with an accurate description of the CO 2 vibrational kinetics.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000386605100002 Publication Date 2016-10-18
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1361-6595 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited 3 Open Access
Notes This research was supported by the European Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship ‘GlidArc’ within Horizon2020 (Grant No. 657304) and by the FWO project (grant G.0383.16N). 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: 3.302
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:135990 Serial 4286
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Author Aghaei, M.; Lindner, H.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Ion Clouds in the Inductively Coupled Plasma Torch: A Closer Look through Computations Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Analytical chemistry Abbreviated Journal Anal Chem
Volume 88 Issue 88 Pages 8005-8018
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract We have computationally investigated the introduction of copper elemental particles in an inductively coupled plasma torch connected to a sampling cone, including for the first time the ionization of the sample. The sample is inserted as liquid particles, which are followed inside the entire torch, i.e., from the injector inlet up to the ionization and reaching the sampler. The spatial position of the ion clouds inside the torch as well as detailed information on the copper species fluxes at the position of the sampler orifice and the exhausts of the torch are provided. The effect of on- and off-axis injection is studied. We clearly show that the ion clouds of on-axis injected material are located closer to the sampler with less radial diffusion. This guarantees a higher transport efficiency through the sampler cone. Moreover, our model reveals the optimum ranges of applied power and flow rates, which ensure the proper position of ion clouds inside the torch, i.e., close enough to the sampler to increase the fraction that can enter the mass spectrometer and with minimum loss of material toward the exhausts as well as a sufficiently high plasma temperature for efficient ionization.
Address Research Group PLASMANT, Chemistry Department, University of Antwerp , Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language English Wos 000381654800020 Publication Date 2016-07-26
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 0003-2700 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 6.32 Times cited 9 Open Access
Notes 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. Approved Most recent IF: 6.32
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:135644 Serial 4293
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Author Huygh, S.; Bogaerts, A.; Neyts, E.C.
Title How Oxygen Vacancies Activate CO2 Dissociation on TiO2 Anatase (001) Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C
Volume 120 Issue 120 Pages 21659-21669
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract The adsorption, dissociation, and diffusion of CO2 on the anatase (001) surface was studied using DFT by means of the generalized gradient approximation using the Perdew−Burcke−Ernzerhof (PBE)-functional and applying corrections for long-range dispersion interactions. Different stable adsorption configurations were identified for the fully oxidized surface. The most stable adsorption configuration is the monodentated carbonate-like structure. Small energy barriers were identified for the conversion of a physisorbed to a chemisorbed configuration.

CO2 dissociation is found to be unfeasible on the stoichiometric surface. The introduction of oxygen vacancy defects gives rise to new highly stable adsorption configurations with a stronger activation of the C−O bonds. This leads to the possibility of exothermic dissociation of CO2 with barriers up to 22.2 kcal/mol,

corresponding to chemical lifetimes of less than 4 s at 300 K. These reactions cause a CO molecule to be formed, which will easily desorb, and the reduced surface to become oxidized. It is clear that oxygen vacancy defects play a key role in the catalytic activity of an anatase (001) surface. Oxygen vacancies play an important role in the dissociation of CO2 on the anatase (001) surface, and will play a significant role in complex problems, such as the catalytic conversion of CO2 to value-added chemicals.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000384626800055 Publication Date 2016-09-02
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 49 Open Access
Notes Stijn Huygh is funded as an aspirant of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO, project number 11C0115N). This work was carried out 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: 4.536
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:136164 Serial 4291
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Author Van der Paal, J.; Verheyen, C.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Hampering Effect of Cholesterol on the Permeation of Reactive Oxygen Species through Phospholipids Bilayer: Possible Explanation for Plasma Cancer Selectivity Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Scientific reports Abbreviated Journal Sci Rep-Uk
Volume 7 Issue 7 Pages 39526
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract In recent years, the ability of cold atmospheric pressure plasmas (CAPS) to selectively induce cell death in cancer cells has been widely established. This selectivity has been assigned to the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) created in CAPs. To provide new insights in the search for an explanation

for the observed selectivity, we calculate the transfer free energy of multiple ROS across membranes containing a varying amount of cholesterol. The cholesterol fraction is investigated as a selectivity parameter because membranes of cancer cells are known to contain lower fractions of cholesterol compared to healthy cells. We find that cholesterol has a significant effect on the permeation of

reactive species across a membrane. Indeed, depending on the specific reactive species, an increasing cholesterol fraction can lead to (i) an increase of the transfer free energy barrier height and width, (ii) the formation of a local free energy minimum in the center of the membrane and (iii) the creation of extra free energy barriers due to the bulky sterol rings. In the context of plasma oncology, these observations suggest that the increased ingress of RONS in cancer cells can be explained by the decreased cholesterol fraction of their cell membrane.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000391306900001 Publication Date 2017-01-06
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 2045-2322 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.259 Times cited 27 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the Fund for Scientific Research (FWO) Flanders, grant number 11U5416N. The calculations were performed in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure of 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) and the Universiteit Antwerpen. Approved Most recent IF: 4.259
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:139512 Serial 4340
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Author Zhang, Y.-R.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Influence of the Material Dielectric Constant on Plasma Generation inside Catalyst Pores Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C
Volume 120 Issue 120 Pages 25923-25934
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Plasma catalysis is gaining increasing interest for various environmental applications, but the crucial question is whether plasma can be created inside catalyst pores and under which conditions. In practice, various catalytic support materials are used, with various dielectric constants. We investigate here the influence of the dielectric constant on the plasma properties inside catalyst pores and in the sheath in front of the pores, for various pore sizes. The calculations are performed by a two-dimensional fluid model for an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge in helium. The electron impact ionization rate, electron temperature, electron and ion density, as well as the potential distribution and surface charge density, are analyzed for a better understanding of the discharge behavior inside catalyst pores. The results indicate that, in a 100 μm pore, the electron impact ionization in the pore, which is characteristic for the plasma generation inside the pore, is greatly enhanced for dielectric constants below 300. Smaller pore sizes only yield enhanced ionization for smaller dielectric constants, i.e., up to εr = 200, 150, and 50 for pore sizes of 50, 30, and 10 μm. Thus, the most common catalyst supports, i.e., Al2O3 and SiO2, which have dielectric constants around εr = 8−11 and 4.2, respectively, should allow more easily that microdischarges can be formed inside catalyst pores, even for smaller pore sizes. On the other hand, ferroelectric materials with dielectric constants above 300 never seem to yield plasma enhancement inside catalyst pores, not even for 100 μm pore sizes. Furthermore, it is clear that the dielectric constant of the material has a large effect on the extent of plasma enhancement inside the catalyst pores, especially in the range between εr = 4 and εr = 200. The obtained results are explained in detail based on the surface charge density at the pore walls,

and the potential distribution and electron temperature inside and above the pores. The results obtained with this model are

important for plasma catalysis, as the production plasma species in catalyst pores might affect the catalyst properties, and thus

improve the applications of plasma catalysis.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000388429100029 Publication Date 2016-11-17
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 34 Open Access
Notes This work was supported by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO) (Grant G.0217.14N), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant 11405019), and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (Grant 2015T80244). This work was carried out in part 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), and the University of Antwerp. Approved Most recent IF: 4.536
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:138602 Serial 4319
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Author Vermeylen, S.; De Waele, J.; Vanuytsel, S.; De Backer, J.; Van der Paal, J.; Ramakers, M.; Leyssens, K.; Marcq, E.; Van Audenaerde, J.; L. J. Smits, E.; Dewilde, S.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Cold atmospheric plasma treatment of melanoma and glioblastoma cancer cells Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Plasma processes and polymers Abbreviated Journal Plasma Process Polym
Volume 13 Issue 13 Pages 1195-1205
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract In this paper, two types of melanoma and glioblastoma cancer cell lines are treated with cold atmospheric plasma to assess the effect of several parameters on the cell viability. The cell viability decreases with treatment duration and time until analysis in all cell lines with varying sensitivity. The majority of dead cells stains both AnnexinV (AnnV) and propidium iodide, indicating that the plasma-treated non-viable cells are mostly late apoptotic or necrotic. Genetic mutations might be involved in the response to plasma. Comparing the effects of two gas mixtures, as well as indirect plasma-activated medium versus direct treatment, gives different results per cell line. In conclusion, this study confirms the potential of plasma for cancer therapy and emphasizes the influence of experimental parameters on therapeutic outcome.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000393131600007 Publication Date 2016-10-31
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1612-8850 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.846 Times cited 26 Open Access
Notes The authors acknowledge the University of Antwerp for providing research funds. The authors are very grateful to V. Schulz-von der Gathen and J. Benedikt (Bochum University) for providing the COST RF plasma jet. The authors would also like to thank Eva Santermans (University of Hasselt) for statistical advice. J. De Waele, J. Van Audenaerde and J. Van der Paal are research fellows of the Research Foundation Flanders (fellowship numbers: 1121016N, 1S32316N and 11U5416N), E. Marcq of Flanders Innovation & Entrepreneurship (fellowship number: 141433). Approved Most recent IF: 2.846
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:138722 Serial 4328
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Author Sun, S.R.; Wang, H.X.; Mei, D.H.; Tu, X.; Bogaerts, A.
Title CO2 conversion in a gliding arc plasma: Performance improvement based on chemical reaction modeling Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Journal of CO2 utilization Abbreviated Journal J Co2 Util
Volume 17 Issue 17 Pages 220-234
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract CO2 conversion into value-added chemicals is gaining increasing interest in recent years, and a gliding arc plasma has great potential for this purpose, because of its high energy efficiency. In this study, a chemical reaction kinetics model is presented to study the CO2 splitting in a gliding arc discharge. The calculated

conversion and energy efficiency are in good agreement with experimental data in a range of different operating conditions. Therefore, this reaction kinetics model can be used to elucidate the dominant chemical reactions contributing to CO2 destruction and formation. Based on this reaction pathway analysis, the restricting factors for CO2 conversion are figured out, i.e., the reverse reactions and the small treated gas fraction. This allows us to propose some solutions in order to improve the CO2 conversion, such as decreasing the gas temperature, by using a high frequency discharge, or increasing the power

density, by using a micro-scale gliding arc reactor, or by removing the reverse reactions, which could be realized in practice by adding possible scavengers for O atoms, such as CH4. Finally, we compare our results with other types of plasmas in terms of conversion and energy efficiency, and the results illustrate that gliding arc discharges are indeed quite promising for CO2 conversion, certainly when keeping in mind the possible solutions for further performance improvement.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000393928500023 Publication Date 2016-12-28
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 2212-9820 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.292 Times cited 41 Open Access Not_Open_Access
Notes We acknowledge financial support from the IAP/7 (Inter- university Attraction Pole) program ‘PSI-Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions’ by the Belgian Federal Office for Science Policy (BELSPO) and the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO; Grant no. G.0383.16N). The calculations were carried out 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. This work is also supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 11275021, 11575019). S R Sun thanks the financial support from the China Scholarship Council (CSC). Approved Most recent IF: 4.292
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:138986 Serial 4332
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Author Snoeckx, R.; Ozkan, A.; Reniers, F.; Bogaerts, A.
Title The Quest for Value-Added Products from Carbon Dioxide and Water in a Dielectric Barrier Discharge: A Chemical Kinetics Study Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Chemsuschem Abbreviated Journal Chemsuschem
Volume 10 Issue 10 Pages 409-424
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Recycling of carbon dioxide by its conversion into value-added products has gained significant interest owing to the role it can play for use in an anthropogenic carbon cycle. The combined conversion with H2O could even mimic the natural photosynthesis process. An interesting gas conversion technique currently being considered in the field of CO2 conversion is plasma technology. To investigate whether it is also promising for this combined conversion, we performed a series of experiments and developed a chemical kinetics plasma chemistry model for a deeper understanding of the process. The main products formed were the syngas components CO and H2, as well as O2 and H2O2, whereas methanol formation was only observed in the parts-per-billion to parts-per-million range. The syngas ratio, on the other hand, could easily be controlled by varying both the water content and/or energy input. On the basis of the model, which was validated with experimental results, a chemical kinetics analysis was performed, which allowed the construction and investigation of the different pathways leading to the observed experimental results and which helped to clarify these results. This approach allowed us to evaluate this technology on the basis of its underlying chemistry and to propose solutions on how to further improve the formation of value-added products by using plasma technology.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000394571900012 Publication Date 2016-11-25
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1864-5631 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 7.226 Times cited 25 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the Inter-university Attraction Pole (IAP; grant number IAP-VII/12, P7/34) program “PSI-Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions”, financially supported by the Belgian Federal Office for Science Policy (BELSPO), as well as the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO; grant number G.0066.12N). This work was performed in part 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) and the University of Antwerp. We also would like to thank the financial support given by “Fonds David et Alice Van Buuren”. Finally, we are very grateful to M. Kushner for providing the Global kin code, to T. Dufour for his support during the experiments, and to R. Aerts for his support during the model development. Approved Most recent IF: 7.226
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:139880 Serial 4412
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Author Sun, S.R.; Kolev, S.; Wang, H.X.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Coupled gas flow-plasma model for a gliding arc: investigations of the back-breakdown phenomenon and its effect on the gliding arc characteristics Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Plasma sources science and technology Abbreviated Journal Plasma Sources Sci T
Volume 26 Issue 26 Pages 015003
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract We present a 3D and 2D Cartesian quasi-neutral plasma model for a low current argon gliding arc discharge, including strong interactions between the gas flow and arc plasma column.

The 3D model is applied only for a short time of 0.2 ms due to its huge computational cost. It mainly serves to verify the reliability of the 2D model. As the results in 2D compare well with those in 3D, they can be used for a better understanding of the gliding arc basic characteristics. More specifically, we investigate the back-breakdown phenomenon induced by an artificially controlled plasma channel, and we discuss its effect on the gliding arc characteristics. The

back-breakdown phenomenon, or backward-jump motion of the arc, as observed in the experiments, results in a drop of the gas temperature, as well as in a delay of the arc velocity with respect to the gas flow velocity, allowing more gas to pass through the arc, and thus increasing the efficiency of the gliding arc for gas treatment applications.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000419253000001 Publication Date 2016-11-22
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1361-6595 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.302 Times cited 9 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes This work is financially supported by the Methusalem financing, by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO) and by the IAP/7 (Inter-university Attraction Pole) program ‘Physical Chemistry of Plasma-Surface Interactions’ from the Belgian Federal Office for Science Policy (BELSPO). The work was carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure of 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) and the Universiteit Antwerpen. This work was also supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11275021, 11575019). S R Sun thanks the financial support from the China Scholarship Council. Approved Most recent IF: 3.302
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:138993 Serial 4337
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Author Shirazi, M.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A.
Title DFT study of Ni-catalyzed plasma dry reforming of methane Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Applied catalysis : B : environmental Abbreviated Journal Appl Catal B-Environ
Volume 205 Issue 205 Pages 605-614
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract tWe investigated the plasma-assisted catalytic reactions for the production of value-added chemicalsfrom Ni-catalyzed plasma dry reforming of methane by means of density functional theory (DFT). Weinspected many activation barriers, from the early stage of adsorption of the major chemical fragmentsderived fromCH4andCO2molecules up to the formation of value-added chemicals at the surface, focusingon the formation of methanol, as well as the hydrogenation of C1and C2hydrocarbon fragments. Theactivation barrier calculations show that the presence of surface-bound H atoms and in some cases alsoremaining chemical fragments at the surface facilitates the formation of products. This implies that thehydrogenation of a chemical fragment on the hydrogenated crystalline surface is energetically favouredcompared to the simple hydrogenation of the chemical fragment at the bare Ni(111) surface. Indeed, thepresence of hydrogen modifies the electronic structure of the surface and the course of the reactions.We therefore conclude that surface-bound H atoms, and to some extent also the remaining chemicalfragments at the crystalline surface, induce the following effects: they facilitate associative desorption ofmethanol and ethane by increasing the rate of H-transfer to the adsorbed fragments while they impedehydrogenation of ethylene to ethane, thus promoting again the desorption of ethylene. Overall, they thusfacilitate the catalytic conversion of the formed fragments from CH4and CO2, into value-added chemicals.Finally, we believe that the retention of methane fragments, especially CH3, in the presence of surface-boundHatoms (as observed here for Ni) can be regarded as an identifier for the proper choice of a catalystfor the production of value-added chemicals.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000393931000063 Publication Date 2017-01-05
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 0926-3373 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 9.446 Times cited 26 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes Financial support from the Reactive Atmospheric Plasmaprocessing –eDucation network (RAPID), through the EU 7thFramework Programme (grant agreement no. 606889) is grate-fully acknowledged. The calculations were performed using theTuring HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Univer-siteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer CenterVSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Approved Most recent IF: 9.446
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:139514 Serial 4343
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Author Yusupov, M.; Van der Paal, J.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Synergistic effect of electric field and lipid oxidation on the permeability of cell membranes Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Biochimica et biophysica acta : G : general subjects Abbreviated Journal Bba-Gen Subjects
Volume 1861 Issue 1861 Pages 839-847
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Background: Strong electric fields are knownto affect cell membrane permeability,which can be applied for therapeutic purposes, e.g., in cancer therapy. A synergistic enhancement of this effect may be accomplished by the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS), as generated in cold atmospheric plasmas. Little is known about the synergy between lipid oxidation by ROS and the electric field, nor on howthis affects the cell membrane permeability.

Method: We here conduct molecular dynamics simulations to elucidate the dynamics of the permeation process under the influence of combined lipid oxidation and electroporation. A phospholipid bilayer (PLB), consisting of di-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine molecules covered with water layers, is used as a model system for the plasma membrane.

Results and conclusions:Weshow howoxidation of the lipids in the PLB leads to an increase of the permeability of the bilayer to ROS, although the permeation free energy barriers still remain relatively high. More importantly, oxidation of the lipids results in a drop of the electric field threshold needed for pore formation (i.e., electroporation) in the PLB. The created pores in the membrane facilitate the penetration of reactive plasma species deep into the cell interior, eventually causing oxidative damage.

General significance: This study is of particular interest for plasma medicine, as plasma generates both ROS and electric fields, but it is also of more general interest for applications where strong electric fields and ROS both come into play.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000397366200012 Publication Date 2017-01-27
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 0304-4165 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.702 Times cited Open Access OpenAccess
Notes This work is financially supported by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO; grant numbers: 1200216N and 11U5416N). The work was carried out using the Turing HPC infrastructure of the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flem Approved Most recent IF: 4.702
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:140095 Serial 4413
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Author De Bie, C.; van Dijk, J.; Bogaerts, A.
Title CO2Hydrogenation in a Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Revealed Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication The journal of physical chemistry: C : nanomaterials and interfaces Abbreviated Journal J Phys Chem C
Volume 120 Issue 120 Pages 25210-25224
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract The hydrogenation of carbon dioxide in a dielectric barrier discharge plasma is studied with a one-dimensional fluid model. The spatially averaged densities of the most important end products formed in the CO2/H2 mixture are determined as a function of the initial gas mixing ratio. CO and H2O are found to be present at the highest densities and to a lower content also CH4, C2H6, CH2O, CH3OH, O2, and some other higher hydrocarbons and oxygenates. The main underlying reaction

pathways for the conversion of the inlet gases and the formation of CO, CH4, CH2O, and CH3OH are pointed out for various gas mixing ratios. The CO2 conversion and the production of value added products is found to be quite low, also in comparison to a CO2/CH4 mixture, and this can be explained by the model.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000387737900007 Publication Date 2016-11-10
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1932-7447 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 4.536 Times cited 16 Open Access
Notes Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek; Approved Most recent IF: 4.536
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:140082 c:irua:139167 Serial 4414
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Author Ozkan, A.; Bogaerts, A.; Reniers, F.
Title Routes to increase the conversion and the energy efficiency in the splitting of CO2by a dielectric barrier discharge Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys
Volume 50 Issue 50 Pages 084004
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Here, we present routes to increase CO2 conversion into CO using an atmospheric pressure dielectric-barrier discharge. The change in conversion as a function of simple plasma parameters, such as power, flow rate, but also frequency, on-and-off power pulse, thickness and the chemical nature of the dielectric, wall and gas temperature, are described. By means of an in-depth electrical characterization of the discharge (effective plasma voltage, dielectric voltage, plasma current, number and lifetime of the microdischarges), combined with infrared analysis of the walls of the reactor, optical emission spectroscopy for the gas temperature, and mass spectrometry for the CO2 conversion, we propose a global interpretation of the effect of all the experimental parameters on the conversion and efficiency of the reaction.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000395400700001 Publication Date 2017-01-30
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 28 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the IAPVII/ 12, P7/34 (Interuniversity Attraction Pole) program PSIPhysical Chemistry of Plasma–Surface Interaction financially supported by the Belgian Federal Office for Science Policy (BELSPO). A Ozkan would like to thank the financial support given by the Fonds David et Alice Van Buuren. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:140093 Serial 4415
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Author Bogaerts, A.; Aghaei, M.
Title Inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry: insights through computer modeling Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Journal of analytical atomic spectrometry Abbreviated Journal J Anal Atom Spectrom
Volume 32 Issue 32 Pages 233-261
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract In this tutorial review paper, we illustrate how computer modeling can contribute to a better insight in inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). We start with a brief overview on previous efforts, studying the fundamentals of the ICP and ICP-MS, with main focus on previous modeling activities. Subsequently, we explain in detail the model that we developed in previous years, and we show typical calculation results, illustrating the plasma characteristics, gas flow patterns and the sample transport, evaporation and ionization. We also present the effect of various experimental parameters, such as operating conditions, geometrical aspects and sample characteristics, to illustrate how modeling can help to elucidate the optimal conditions for improved analytical performance.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000395529800002 Publication Date 2016-12-07
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 0267-9477 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 3.379 Times cited 14 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors are very grateful to H. Lindner for the initial model development and for the many interesting discussions. They also gratefully acknowledge nancial support from the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO; Grant number 6713). The calculations were carried out 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: 3.379
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:140074 Serial 4416
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Author Verlackt, C.C.W.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Atomic scale behavior of oxygen-based radicals in water Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys
Volume 50 Issue 50 Pages 11LT01
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Cold atmospheric pressure plasmas in and in contact with liquids represent a growing field of research for various applications. Understanding the interactions between the plasma generated species and the liquid is crucial. In this work we perform molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on a quantum mechanical method, i.e. density-functional based tight-binding (DFTB), to examine the interactions of OH radicals and O atoms in bulk water. Our calculations reveal that the transport of OH radicals through water is not only governed by diffusion, but also by an equilibrium reaction of H-abstraction with water molecules. Furthermore, when two OH radicals encounter each other, they either form a stable cluster, or react, resulting in the formation of a new water molecule and an O atom. In addition,

the O atoms form either oxywater (when in singlet configuration) or they remain stable in solution (when in triplet configuration), stressing the important role that O atoms can play in aqueous solution, and in contact with biomolecules. Our observations are in line with both experimental and ab initio results from the literature.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000415252400001 Publication Date 2017-02-13
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 11 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes The authors thank Peter Bruggeman (University of Minnesota, USA) and Jan Benedikt (Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany) for the interesting discussions regarding the existence of O in aqueous solutions. Furthermore, they acknowledge financial support from the Fund for Scientific Research (FWO) Flanders (project number G012413N). The calculations were performed 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) and the Universiteit Antwerpen. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:140845 Serial 4420
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Author Khalilov, U.; Bogaerts, A.; Xu, B.; Kato, T.; Kaneko, T.; Neyts, E.C.
Title How the alignment of adsorbed ortho H pairs determines the onset of selective carbon nanotube etching Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Nanoscale Abbreviated Journal Nanoscale
Volume 9 Issue 9 Pages 1653-1661
Keywords A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Unlocking the enormous technological potential of carbon nanotubes strongly depends on our ability to specifically produce metallic or semiconducting tubes. While selective etching of both has already been demonstrated, the underlying reasons, however, remain elusive as yet. We here present computational and experimental evidence on the operative mechanisms at the atomic scale. We demonstrate that during the adsorption of H atoms and their coalescence, the adsorbed ortho hydrogen pairs on single-walled carbon nanotubes induce higher shear stresses than axial stresses, leading to the elongation of HC–CH bonds as a function of their alignment with the tube chirality vector, which we denote as the γ-angle. As a result, the C–C cleavage occurs more rapidly in nanotubes containing ortho H-pairs with a small γ-angle. This phenomenon can explain the selective etching of small-diameter semiconductor nanotubes with a similar curvature. Both theoretical and experimental results strongly indicate the important role of the γ-angle in the selective etching mechanisms of carbon nanotubes, in addition to the nanotube curvature and metallicity effects and lead us to clearly understand the onset of selective synthesis/removal of CNT-based materials.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000395422800036 Publication Date 2016-12-19
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 2040-3364 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 7.367 Times cited 6 Open Access OpenAccess
Notes U. K. gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Fund of Scientific Research Flanders (FWO), Belgium (Grant No. 12M1315N). This work was also supported in part by Grant-in- Aid for Young Scientists A (Grant No. 25706028), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (Grant No. 26107502) from JSPS KAKENHI. This work was carried out in part 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 Prof. A. C. T. van Duin for sharing the ReaxFF code and J. Razzokov for his assistance to perform the DFT calculations. Approved Most recent IF: 7.367
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:140091 Serial 4417
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Author Bogaerts, A.; Khosravian, N.; Van der Paal, J.; Verlackt, C.C.W.; Yusupov, M.; Kamaraj, B.; Neyts, E.C.
Title Multi-level molecular modelling for plasma medicine Type A1 Journal article
Year 2016 Publication Journal Of Physics D-Applied Physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys
Volume 49 Issue 5 Pages 054002-54019
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication London Editor
Language Wos Publication Date 0000-00-00
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record
Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited Open Access
Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.588
Call Number UA @ lucian @ c:irua:129798 Serial 4467
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Author Belov, I.; Vanneste, J.; Aghaee, M.; Paulussen, S.; Bogaerts, A.
Title Synthesis of Micro- and Nanomaterials in CO2and CO Dielectric Barrier Discharges: Synthesis of Micro- and Nanomaterials… Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Plasma processes and polymers Abbreviated Journal Plasma Process Polym
Volume 14 Issue 14 Pages 1600065
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Dielectric Barrier Discharges operating in CO and CO2 form solid products at atmospheric pressure. The main differences between both plasmas and their deposits were analyzed, at similar energy input. GC measurements revealed a mixture of CO2, CO, and O2 in the CO2 DBD exhaust, while no O2 was found in the CO plasma. A coating of nanoparticles composed of Fe, O, and C was produced by the CO2 discharge, whereas, a microscopic dendrite-like carbon structure was formed in the CO plasma. Fe3O4 and Fe crystalline phases were found in the CO2 sample. The CO

deposition was characterized as an amorphous structure, close to polymeric CO (p-CO). Interestingly, p-CO is not formed in the CO2 plasma, in spite of the significant amounts of CO produced (up to 30% in the reactor exhaust).
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000397476000007 Publication Date 2016-07-29
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1612-8850 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.846 Times cited 10 Open Access Not_Open_Access
Notes European Union Seventh Framework Programme FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN, 606889 ; Approved Most recent IF: 2.846
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:141759 Serial 4487
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Author Neyts, E.C.; Brault, P.
Title Molecular Dynamics Simulations for Plasma-Surface Interactions: Molecular Dynamics Simulations… Type A1 Journal article
Year 2017 Publication Plasma processes and polymers Abbreviated Journal Plasma Process Polym
Volume 14 Issue 14 Pages 1600145
Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract Plasma-surface interactions are in general highly complex due to the interplay of many concurrent processes. Molecular dynamics simulations provide insight in some of these processes, subject to the accessible time and length scales, and the availability of suitable force fields. In this introductory tutorial-style review, we aim to describe the current capabilities and limitations of molecular dynamics simulations in this field, restricting ourselves to low-temperature nonthermal plasmas. Attention is paid to the simulation of the various fundamental processes occurring, including sputtering, etching, implantation, and deposition, as well as to what extent the basic plasma components can be accounted for, including ground state and excited species, electric fields, ions, photons, and electrons. A number of examples is provided, giving an bird’s eye overview of the current state of the field.
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000393184600009 Publication Date 2016-09-07
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1612-8850 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.846 Times cited 13 Open Access Not_Open_Access
Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.846
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:141758 Serial 4488
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Author Laroussi, M.; Bogaerts, A.; Barekzi, N.
Title Plasma processes and polymers third special issue on plasma and cancer Type Editorial
Year 2016 Publication Plasma processes and polymers Abbreviated Journal Plasma Process Polym
Volume 13 Issue 13 Pages 1142-1143
Keywords Editorial; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)
Abstract
Address
Corporate Author Thesis
Publisher Place of Publication Editor
Language Wos 000393131600001 Publication Date 2016-10-20
Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title
Series Volume Series Issue (up) Edition
ISSN 1612-8850 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles
Impact Factor 2.846 Times cited 1 Open Access
Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.846
Call Number PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:141546 Serial 4474
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