| |
Records |
Links |
|
Author |
Le Compte, M.; Cardenas De La Hoz, E.; Peeters, S.; Smits, E.; Lardon, F.; Roeyen, G.; Vanlanduit, S.; Prenen, H.; Peeters, M.; Lin, A.; Deben, C. |
|
| |
Title |
Multiparametric tumor organoid drug screening using widefield live-cell imaging for bulk and single-organoid analysis |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
| |
Year |
2022 |
Publication |
Jove-Journal Of Visualized Experiments |
Abbreviated Journal |
Jove-J Vis Exp |
|
| |
Volume  |
|
Issue |
190 |
Pages |
1-18 |
|
| |
Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Antwerp Surgical Training, Anatomy and Research Centre (ASTARC); Center for Oncological Research (CORE) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Patient-derived tumor organoids (PDTOs) hold great promise for preclinical and translational research and predicting the patient therapy response from ex vivo drug screenings. However, current adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-based drug screening assays do not capture the complexity of a drug response (cytostatic or cytotoxic) and intratumor heterogeneity that has been shown to be retained in PDTOs due to a bulk readout. Live-cell imaging is a powerful tool to overcome this issue and visualize drug responses more in-depth. However, image analysis software is often not adapted to the three-dimensionality of PDTOs, requires fluorescent viability dyes, or is not compatible with a 384-well microplate format. This paper describes a semi-automated methodology to seed, treat, and image PDTOs in a high-throughput, 384-well format using conventional, widefield, live-cell imaging systems. In addition, we developed viability marker-free image analysis software to quantify growth rate-based drug response metrics that improve reproducibility and correct growth rate variations between different PDTO lines. Using the normalized drug response metric, which scores drug response based on the growth rate normalized to a positive and negative control condition, and a fluorescent cell death dye, cytotoxic and cytostatic drug responses can be easily distinguished, profoundly improving the classification of responders and non-responders. In addition, drug-response heterogeneity can by quantified from single-organoid drug response analysis to identify potential, resistant clones. Ultimately, this method aims to improve the prediction of clinical therapy response by capturing a multiparametric drug response signature, which includes kinetic growth arrest and cell death quantification. , |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
000928020400010 |
Publication Date |
2022-12-24 |
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1940-087x |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
1.2 |
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
OpenAccess |
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
Most recent IF: 1.2 |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:193168 |
Serial |
7271 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Deben, C.; Cardenas De La Hoz, E.; Le Compte, M.; Van Schil, P.; Hendriks, J.M.H.; Lauwers, P.; Yogeswaran, S.K.; Lardon, F.; Pauwels, P.; van Laere, S.; Bogaerts, A.; Smits, E.; Vanlanduit, S.; Lin, A. |
|
| |
Title |
OrBITS : label-free and time-lapse monitoring of patient derived organoids for advanced drug screening |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
| |
Year |
2022 |
Publication |
Cellular Oncology (2211-3428) |
Abbreviated Journal |
Cell Oncol |
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
1-16 |
|
| |
Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Antwerp Surgical Training, Anatomy and Research Centre (ASTARC); Center for Oncological Research (CORE) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Background Patient-derived organoids are invaluable for fundamental and translational cancer research and holds great promise for personalized medicine. However, the shortage of available analysis methods, which are often single-time point, severely impede the potential and routine use of organoids for basic research, clinical practise, and pharmaceutical and industrial applications. Methods Here, we developed a high-throughput compatible and automated live-cell image analysis software that allows for kinetic monitoring of organoids, named Organoid Brightfield Identification-based Therapy Screening (OrBITS), by combining computer vision with a convolutional network machine learning approach. The OrBITS deep learning analysis approach was validated against current standard assays for kinetic imaging and automated analysis of organoids. A drug screen of standard-of-care lung and pancreatic cancer treatments was also performed with the OrBITS platform and compared to the gold standard, CellTiter-Glo 3D assay. Finally, the optimal parameters and drug response metrics were identified to improve patient stratification. Results OrBITS allowed for the detection and tracking of organoids in routine extracellular matrix domes, advanced Gri3D (R)-96 well plates, and high-throughput 384-well microplates, solely based on brightfield imaging. The obtained organoid Count, Mean Area, and Total Area had a strong correlation with the nuclear staining, Hoechst, following pairwise comparison over a broad range of sizes. By incorporating a fluorescent cell death marker, infra-well normalization for organoid death could be achieved, which was tested with a 10-point titration of cisplatin and validated against the current gold standard ATP-assay, CellTiter-Glo 3D. Using this approach with OrBITS, screening of chemotherapeutics and targeted therapies revealed further insight into the mechanistic action of the drugs, a feature not achievable with the CellTiter-Glo 3D assay. Finally, we advise the use of the growth rate-based normalised drug response metric to improve accuracy and consistency of organoid drug response quantification. Conclusion Our findings validate that OrBITS, as a scalable, automated live-cell image analysis software, would facilitate the use of patient-derived organoids for drug development and therapy screening. The developed wet-lab workflow and software also has broad application potential, from providing a launching point for further brightfield-based assay development to be used for fundamental research, to guiding clinical decisions for personalized medicine. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
000898426100001 |
Publication Date |
2022-12-12 |
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
2211-3428; 2211-3436 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
6.6 |
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
OpenAccess |
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
Most recent IF: 6.6 |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:192698 |
Serial |
7272 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Wang, J. |
|
| |
Title |
Plasma catalysis : study of CO2 reforming of CH4 in a DBD reactor |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2022 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
XVI, 232 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
The plasma-based dry reforming in a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor is important to achieve sustainable goals, but many challenges remain. For example, the conversion and energy yield of DBD reactors are relatively low, and the catalysts or packing materials used in existing studies cannot improve them, possibly due to the unsuitable properties and structures of catalysts or packing materials for plasma processes. In order to study the effect of catalyst structure on plasma-based dry reforming, a controllable synthesis of the catalyst supports or templates was explored. In Chapter 2, an initially immiscible synthesis method was proposed to synthesize uniform silica spheres, which can replace the organic solvent-based Stöber method to successfully synthesize silica particles with the same size ranges as the original Stöber process without addition of organic solvents. Using the silica spheres as templates, 3D porous Cu and CuO catalysts with different pore sizes were synthesized in Chapter 3 to study the effect of catalyst pore size on the plasma-catalytic dry reforming. In most cases, the smaller the pore size, the higher the conversion of CH4 and CO2 due to the reaction of radicals and ions formed in the plasma. An exception are the samples synthesized from 1 μm silica, which show better performance due to the electric field enhancement for pore sizes close to the Debye length. Besides the pore size, the particle diameter of the catalyst or packing is also one of the important factors affecting the interaction between plasma and catalyst. In Chapter 4, SiO2 spheres (with or without supported metal) were used to study the effect of different support particle sizes on plasma-based dry reforming. We found that a uniform SiO2 packing improves the conversion of plasma-based dry reforming. The conversion of plasma-based dry reforming first increases and then decreases with increasing particle size, due to the balance between the promoting and hindering effect of the particle filling on the plasma discharge. Chapter 5 is to improve the design of the DBD reactor itself, in order to try to increase its low energy yield. Some stainless steel rings were put over the inner electrode rod of the DBD reactor. The presence of rings increases the local electric field, the displaced charges and the discharge fraction, and also makes the discharge more stable and with more uniform intensity. The placement of the rings improves the performance of the reactor at 30 W supplied power. |
|
| |
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:194045 |
Serial |
7273 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Kovács, A. |
|
| |
Title |
A structured methodology for natural deep eutectic solvent selection and formulation for enzymatic reactions |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2023 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
viii, 216 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Biochemical Wastewater Valorization & Engineering (BioWaVE); Intelligence in PRocesses, Advanced Catalysts and Solvents (iPRACS) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) show great promise as media for enzymatic reactions in areas where (bio)compatibility with natural or medicinal products is a must. While in theory they can be tailored to the intended reaction to ensure optimized yields, the knowledge to date is predominantly empirical, with some mechanistic reports providing a fragmented view at best. Therefore, it is not easy to explain experimental observations, let alone make predictions. The aim of this study was to develop a structured, holistic understanding of the effects of NADES media on enzymatic reactions, distinguishing between effects on solubility, solvation, viscosity, inhibition and denaturation. Experimental and computational chemistry methods were combined to separately study the interactions between enzyme, substrate, and NADES as reaction media. The initial enzyme activity and the final conversion of vinyl laurate transesterification by immobilized Candida antarctica lipase were studied experimentally. The direct effect of NADES on the same enzyme was modeled by molecular dynamics simulation. The effect of solubility was studied by both experimental and computational methods. To predict the solubility and viscosity of NADES, data-driven models were developed by combining group contribution and machine learning methods, based on the accumulated experimental knowledge on NADES found in the literature. Finally, the composed relationships and prediction models were applied to the practical example of deacetylation of mannosylerythritol lipids (MELs). The experimental findings show that the chosen NADES system has a significant effect on both the apparent initial activity and the final conversion. However, in the simulations, the enzyme retains its original structure; moreover, NADES has an additional stabilizing effect on the enzyme. In addition, changes in the molar ratio of the compounds in NADES do not show a significant effect on the stability of the enzyme. These results indicate that the main effect of NADES on the reaction is mainly related to the substrate-solvent interactions (solvation energy) and the viscosity of the system. On the other hand, the experimental results only confirmed the significance of solvation, viscosity did not show a clear correlation with the studied reaction parameters. The machine learning models built for solubility and viscosity gave quantitative predictions of these properties. The accumulated knowledge was used to optimize the yield in the deacetylation reaction of MELs. The combination of these methods provides fundamental knowledge about the effect of NADES on biocatalysis, but the results are also applicable to other uses of NADES. |
|
| |
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:194886 |
Serial |
7276 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
De Backer, J. |
|
| |
Title |
The versatile nature of cytoglobin, the Swiss army knife among globins, with a preference for oxidative stress |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2023 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
XVIII, 232 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Pharmacology. Therapy; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Proteinscience, proteomics and epigenetic signaling (PPES) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Since its discovery 20 years ago, many studies have been performed to gain insight into the functional role of cytoglobin (Cygb). However, Cygb has been proven to be a promiscuous protein. Yet, there is a consensus that Cygb is a cytoprotective protein involved in redox homeostasis. CYGB is a ubiquitously expressed hexacoordinated globin that is highly expressed in melanocytes and is often found to be downregulated during melanocyte-to-melanoma transition. In Chapter III, we investigated the molecular mechanism through which CYGB could be involved in redox regulation. Here, we showed that CYGB contains two redox-sensitive cysteine residues and that the formation of an intramolecular disulfide bridge resulted in the heme group becoming more accessible to external ligands. This supports the hypothesis that Cys38 and Cys83 serve as sensitive redox sensors. In Chapter IV we showed that CYGB mRNA and protein levels were elevated upon exposure to hypoxia. Interestingly, this upregulation was most likely HIF-2α-dependent. We propose that in melanoma, HIF-2α, rather than HIF-1α, positively regulates CYGB under hypoxic conditions in a cell type specific way. In Chapter V, the cytotoxic effect of indirect NTP treatment in two melanoma cell lines with divergent endogenous CYGB expression levels was investigated. We confirmed that NTP endows cytotoxicity that induces cell death through apoptosis and that this was mediated through the production of ROS. Moreover, we showed that CYGB protects melanoma cells from ROS-induced apoptosis by the scavenging of ROS. Interestingly, CYGB expression influenced the expression of NRF2 and HO-1. We identified the lncRNA MEG3 as a possible mechanism through which NRF2 expression and its downstream target HO-1 can be regulated by CYGB. In chapter VI, increased basal ROS levels and higher degree of lipid peroxidation upon RSL3 treatment contributed to the increased sensitivity of CYGB knockdown G361 cells to ferroptosis. Furthermore, transcriptome analysis demonstrates the enrichment of multiple cancer malignancy pathways upon CYGB knockdown, supporting a tumor-suppressive role for CYGB. Remarkably, CYGB expression regulation was identified as a critical determinant of the ferroptosis–pyroptosis therapy response. This suggests that CYGB is involved in the regulation of multiple modes of programmed cell death. FInally, we sought to delineate the RONS that are responsible for plasma-induced ICD. Our results highlight the importance of the short-lived species. Furthermore, we are first to demonstrate that NTP-created vaccine is safely prepared and offers complete protection. Moreover, we provide conclusive evidence that direct application of NTP induces ICD in melanoma. |
|
| |
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:193568 |
Serial |
7277 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Adelmann, C.; Sankaran, K.; Dutta, S.; Gupta, A.; Kundu, S.; Jamieson, G.; Moors, K.; Pinna, N.; Ciofi, I.; Van Elshocht, S.; Bommels, J.; Boccardi, G.; Wilson, C.J.; Pourtois, G.; Tokei, Z. |
|
| |
Title |
Alternative Metals: from ab initio Screening to Calibrated Narrow Line Models |
Type |
P1 Proceeding |
| |
Year |
2018 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the IEEE ... International Interconnect Technology Conference
T2 – IEEE International Interconnect Technology Conference (IITC), JUN 04-07, 2018, Santa Clara, CA |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
154-156 |
|
| |
Keywords |
P1 Proceeding; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
We discuss the selection and assessment of alternative metals by a combination of ab initio computation of electronic properties, experimental resistivity assessments, and calibrated line resistance models. Pt-group metals as well as Nb are identified as the most promising elements, with Ru showing the best combination of material properties and process maturity. An experimental assessment of the resistivity of Ru, Ir, and Co lines down to similar to 30 nm(2) is then used to devise compact models for line and via resistance that can be compared to Cu predictions. The main advantage of alternative metals originates from the possibility for barrierless metallization. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
000468672900051 |
Publication Date |
2018-09-06 |
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
978-1-5386-4337-2; 978-1-5386-4337-2 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:160473 |
Serial |
7436 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Zhang, L. |
|
| |
Title |
Characteristic diagnosis of atmospheric discharge plasma and kinetics study of reactive species |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2021 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
XVIII, 148 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Low-temperature plasma has received extensive attention due to its promising application prospects in the field of air pollutants degradation and energy conversion. To fulfill the need for particular applications, constructing stable plasma sources and investigating the interaction mechanisms between plasma and substances have been hot research topics. This thesis reports the diagnosis and improvement of plasma sources, diagnosis of the active species in plasma and a modeling study of chemical kinetics processes. The main research contents are as follows: In Chapter 3, a diffuse sine AC dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is successfully obtained by optimizing the electrode structure. It is found that using double-layer dielectric plates can limit the discharge current intensity and significantly improve the discharge uniformity. The electrical characteristics and gas temperature with different operating time show that the discharge stability is also improved by using double-layer dielectric plates. In Chapter 4, nanosecond pulses are employed to generate diffuse DBD plasmas. Three main discharge stages are distinguished by ICCD images, i.e., the streamer breakdown from the needle tip to the plate electrode, the regime transition from streamer to diffuse plasma, and the propagation of surface discharge on the plate electrode surface. The chapter reveales that in nanosecond pulsed discharges the vibrational temperature of N2 increases with the discharge duration, while the rotational temperature mainly stays constant, which means electron energy is transferred into the vibrational levels, but gas heating is not obvious during the discharge pulse. In Chapter 5, both sine AC DBD and nanosecond pulsed DBD, studied in Chapter 2 and 3, are used for formaldehyde degradation. It is found that nanosecond pulsed DBD has more homogenous characteristics, better stability, and lower plasma gas temperature. Moreover, the energy consumption of nanosecond pulsed DBD is much lower than that of AC DBD. In Chapter 6, a 0D chemical kinetics model is developed to investigate the underlying plasma chemistry of methane dry reforming in a nanosecond pulsed discharge. An overview of the dominant reaction pathways of CO2 and CH4 conversion into the major products is given. Furthermore, most of the CO2 molecules are populated into vibrational states during the pulse. Hence, the vibrational states of CO2 play an important role in its dissociation process. In general, this PhD thesis contributes to a better insight in the mechanisms of sinusoidal AC DBD and nanosecond pulsed DBD plasmas and their applications, i.e., decomposition of formaldehyde and dry reforming of methane. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
|
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
Most recent IF: NA |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:183166 |
Serial |
7605 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Heyne, M.H. |
|
| |
Title |
Chemistry and plasma physics challenges for 2D materials technology |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2019 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
167 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Transition-metal dichalcogenides such as MoS2 or WS2 are semiconducting materials with a layered structure. One single layer consists of a plane of metal atoms terminated on the top and bottom by the chalcogen atoms sulfur, selenium, or tellurium. These layers show strong in-plane covalent bonding, whereas the Van-der-Waals bonds in between adjacent layers are weak. Those weak bonds allow the microcleavage and extraction of a monolayer. Transistors built on such monolayer nanosheets are promising due to high electrostatic controllability in comparison to a bulk semiconductor. This is important for fast switching speed and low-power consumption in the OFF-state. Nonetheless, prototypes of such nanosheet transistors show non-idealities due to the fabrication process. Closed films on a large area cannot be obtained by mechanical exfoliation from mm-sized crystals. For wafer-level processing, synthetic growth methods are needed. It is a challenge to obtain a few layer thick crystals with large lateral grains or even without grain boundaries with synthetic growth techniques. This requires pre-conditioned monocrystalline substrates, high-temperature deposition, and polymer-assisted transfer to other target substrates after the growth. Such transfer is a source of cracks in the film and degrades the layers' promising properties by residual polymer from the bond material. Apart from transfer, patterning of the stacked 2D layers is necessary to build devices. The patterning of a 2D material itself or another material on top of it is challenging. The integration of the nanosheets into miniaturized devices cannot be done by conventional continuous-wave dry etching techniques due to the absence of etch stop layers and the vulnerability of these thin layers. To eliminate these issues in growth and integration, we explored the deposition methods on wafer-level and low-damage integration schemes. To this end, we studied the growth of MoS2 by a hybrid physical-chemical vapor deposition for which metal layers were deposited and subsequently sulfurized in H2S to obtain large area 2D layers. The impact of sulfurization temperature, time, partial H2S pressure, and H2 addition on the stoichiometry, crystallinity, and roughness were explored. Furthermore, a selective low-temperature deposition and conversion process at 450 °C for WS2 by the precursors WF6, H2S, and Si was considered. Si was used as a reducing agent for WF6 to deposit thin W films and H2S sulfurized this film in situ. The impact of the reducing agent amount, its surface condition, the temperature window, and the necessary time for the conversion of Si into W and W into WS2 were studied. Further quality improvement strategies on the WS2 were implemented by using extra capping layers in combination with annealing. Capping layers such as Ni and Co for metal-induced crystallization were compared to dielectric capping layers. The impact of the metal capping layer and its thickness on the recrystallization was evaluated. The dielectric capping layer's property to suppress sulfur loss under high temperature was explored. The annealings, which were done by rapid thermal annealing and nanosecond laser annealing, were discussed. Eventually, the fabrication of a heterostack with a MoS2 base layer and selectively grown WS2 was studied. Atomic layer etching was identified as attractive technique to remove the solid precursor Si from MoS2 in a layer-by-layer fashion. The in-situ removal of native SiO2 and the impact towards MoS2 was determined. The created patterned Si on MoS2 was then converted into patterned WS2 on MoS2 by the selective WF6/H2S process developed earlier. This procedure offers an attractive, scalable way to enable the fabrication of 2D devices with CMOS-compatible processes and contributes essential progress in the field 2D materials technology. |
|
| |
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 |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:162027 |
Serial |
7662 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Grubova, I.Y. |
|
| |
Title |
Density functional theory study of interface interactions in hydroxyapatite/rutile composites for biomedical applications |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2018 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
251 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
|
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
|
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:158087 |
Serial |
7760 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Shaw, P. |
|
| |
Title |
Dual action of reactive species as signal and stress agents in plasma medicine : combined computational and experimental research |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2021 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
191 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Center for Oncological Research (CORE) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) generated by cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) can activate discrete signaling transduction pathways or disrupt redox cellular homeostasis, depending on their concentration. This makes that CAP possesses therapeutic potential towards wound healing, cancer, and other diseases. In order to effectively use CAP in the clinic, a clear understanding of the interaction of RONS with biomolecules (lipids, proteins and nucleic acids) from the atomic to the macro scale, and their biological significance, is needed. In this work, I have therefore studied the dual role of CAP-derived RONS, i.e., (i) in the signaling pathways involved in wound healing, and (ii) in their reaction with biomolecules to cause oxidation-mediated damage. I performed computer simulations to provide fundamental insight about the occurring processes that are difficult or even impossible to obtain experimentally. Furthermore, next to computational studies, I used both 2D and 3D tissue cultures. 3D model allows proliferation in a more physiologically relevant geometry that stimulates the production of extracellular matrix proteins. I investigated the treatment of human gingival fibroblasts with low doses of CAP-generated RONS. This treatment demonstrated that it can inhibit colony formation but does not induce cell death, induce the expression of metalloprotease proteins, induce extracellular matrix degradation, and promote cell migration, which could result in enhanced wound healing. In contrast, at high concentrations, RONS can disrupt the cell membrane integrity and induce cancer cell death through oxidative stress-mediated pathways. I discovered how oxidation of the cell membrane (lipid-peroxidation) can facilitate the access of a drug (Melittin) into cancer cells, and in this way, reduce the required therapeutic dose of Melittin in melanoma and breast cancer cells (demonstrated using in vitro, in ovo and in silico approaches). Furthermore, I studied how excessive lipid-oxidation in chemoresistant pancreatic cancer cells promotes ferroptotic cell death. This was due to the stimulation of the iron-dependent Fenton reaction by targeting a redox specific signaling network. However, upon oxidative stress, cells protect themselves via a sophisticated intracellular antioxidant system that involves the regulation of glutathione/glutathione peroxidase 4 (lipid repair enzyme). Cancer cells exhibited increased levels of intracellular RONS due to their hyper metabolism, leading to high expression of anti-oxidant systems. I therefore focus on the effect of reactive species on the intracellular anti-oxidant system and corresponding DNA damages in both temozolomide-sensitive as well as temozolomide-resistant glioblastoma spheroids, in a 3-dimensional tumor model with a more complex tumor microenvironment than cell monolayers. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
|
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
Most recent IF: NA |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:183751 |
Serial |
7828 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Alexiades, V.; Autrique, D. |
|
| |
Title |
Enthalpy model for heating, melting, and vaporization in laser ablation |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
| |
Year |
2010 |
Publication |
Electronic journal of differential equations |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
1-13 |
|
| |
Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Laser ablation is used in a growing number of applications in various areas including medicine, archaeology, chemistry, environmental and materials sciences. In this work the heat transfer and phase change phenomena during nanosecond laser ablation of a copper (Cu) target in a helium (He) background gas at atmospheric pressure are presented. An enthalpy model is outlined, which accounts for heating, melting, and vaporization of the target. As far as we know, this is the first model that connects the thermodynamics and underlying kinetics of this challenging phase change problem in a selfconsistent way. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
000455668500001 |
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1072-6691 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:190550 |
Serial |
7925 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Sankaran, K.; Swerts, J.; Carpenter, R.; Couet, S.; Garello, K.; Evans, R.F.L.; Rao, S.; Kim, W.; Kundu, S.; Crotti, D.; Kar, G.S.; Pourtois, G. |
|
| |
Title |
Evidence of magnetostrictive effects on STT-MRAM performance by atomistic and spin modeling |
Type |
P1 Proceeding |
| |
Year |
2018 |
Publication |
2018 Ieee International Electron Devices Meeting (iedm) |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
|
| |
Keywords |
P1 Proceeding; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
For the first time, we demonstrate, using an atomistic description of a 30nm diameter spin-transfer-torque magnetic random access memories (STT-MRAM), that the difference in mechanical properties of its sub-nanometer layers induces a high compressive strain in the magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) and leads to a detrimental magnetostrictive effect. Our model explains the issues met in engineering the electrical and magnetic performances in scaled STT-MRAM devices. The resulting high compressive strain built in the stack, particularly in the MgO tunnel barrier (t-MgO), and its associated non-uniform atomic displacements, impacts on the quality of the MTJ interface and leads to strain relieve mechanisms such as surface roughness and adhesion issues. We illustrate that the strain gradient induced by the different materials and their thicknesses in the stacks has a negative impact on the tunnel magneto-resistance (TMR), on the magnetic nucleation process and on the STT-MRAM performance. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
000459882300147 |
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
978-1-72811-987-8; 978-1-72811-987-8 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:158694 |
Serial |
7942 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Cui, Z. |
|
| |
Title |
Experimental and theoretical study on SF6 degradation by packed-bed DBD plasma |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2021 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), as a man-made gas, is widely used in power industry, semiconductor industry and metal-processing industry. However, SF6 is a greenhouse gas and its global warming potential is 23500 times that of CO2. Besides, SF6 is very stable, with a lifetime in the atmosphere for more than one thousand years. Under natural conditions, only the ultraviolet light can make it slowly decomposed. Thus, the emission of SF6 has a great threat to the environment. In recent years, with the development of our national economy, the use of SF6 increased dramatically. And 90% of the SF6 emissions come from the power industry. In the meantime, the emission of SF6 exists a ‘hysteresis effect’, as many of the SF6-gas insulation equipment will retire in next decades, the emission of SF6 may increase sharply, and this may put great pressure on the environment. Therefore, it’s necessary to make efforts in controlling and treating the SF6 emission. Among the SF6 abatement technologies, the non-thermal plasma(NTP) represented by the dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) can effectively degrade SF6 and is suitable for large-scale industry applications. However, its energy efficiency still gets room for improvement and this kind of method has a defect that it’s hard to regulate the degradation by-products. Therefore, this paper proposed the combination of the packed bed reactor and the DBD technology to form a packed DBD discharge system for SF6 degradation, so that to further improve the energy efficiency and regulate the selectivity of by-products. By experiment and simulation research, the following innovations have been achieved: (1) Based on the packed bed DBD platform, the power parameter and gas-phase parameters of SF6 degradation were studied. It was found that the discharge process was significantly enhanced with the addition of packing particles, and the discharge energy efficiency was improved. The increase of input voltage can obviously increase the degradation rate, but reduces the energy efficiency. The increase of SF6 initial concentration and gas flow rate can improve the energy efficiency, but reduce the degradation rate. Therefore, both degradation rate and energy efficiency should be considered in deciding basic experimental conditions. (2) Active gases, such as O2, H2O and NH3, could effectively promote the degradation rate of SF6, and changed the product selectivity. In our packed bed DBD system, O2 and H2O have the optimal concentration conditions, which are 2% and 1%, respectively. The addition of O2 can promote the generation of S-O-F products, and inhibit the selectivity of SO2, while the addition of H2O had the opposite effects. In addition, the synergistic degradation of NH3 and SF6 will produce solid products, such as NH3HF, NH4HF2 and elemental S. For gaseous products, the increase of NH3 will lead to the generation of SO2 in the final degradation products and inhibit the generation of S-O-F products. (3) Different kinds of packing materials have great impacts on the degradation system in the discharge parameters, degradation rate and energy efficiency, as well as the products distribution. In the experiment, we compared the degradation results in three systems: glass beads packing, γ-Al2O3 packing and no-packing system. The packing of glass beads effectively improved the discharge voltage amplitude and discharge power, while had a limited effect on the equivalent capacitance of the dielectric. Besides, γ-Al2O3 packing had little effect on voltage amplitude, but obviously increased the equivalent capacitance of the dielectric. Furthermore, the degradation rate and energy efficiency in γ-Al2O3 system was higher than that of glass bead system. For products selectivity, γ-Al2O3 system was more desirable, where S-O-F type of product selectivity was suppressed and the SO2 selectivity increased significantly. By contrast, the glass beads system hardly affected the product selectivity. This results are presumably due to the relatively high dielectric constant of γ-Al2O3 particles and γ-Al2O3 itself may act as a reactant or a catalyst participating in the degradation reactions. (4) The size and status of the packing particles also have significant effects on the degradation process. The systems packed with 1, 2 and 4mm γ-Al2O3 particles for SF6 degradation were compared, and the 2mm system had the best performance, which may because the 2mm system had a good balance between the active contact area and the gas residence time. In addition, the packing pellets suffered from a hydration process slightly reduced the discharge parameters in the γ-Al2O3 packing system and significantly reduced the degradation rate was, which may because the H2O molecules pre-occupied the active sites on the γ-Al2O3 surface and reduced the discharge process. (5) Based on density functional theory (DFT), the degradation process of SF6 in the packed bed DBD system was studied at atomic scale. It was found that the SF6 can occur a physical adsorption at AlⅢ active sites on γ-Al2O3 surface. The activation barrier for the first degradation step of SF6 on γ-Al2O3 surface is much lower than in gas phase, which proved that the SF6 molecule is activated on the γ-Al2O3 surface. In addition, the plasma may affect the γ-Al2O3 surface to generate excess electrons or external electric fields. This two effects can change the adsorbed SF6 molecules from physical adsorption to chemisorption, together with an obvious stretching of S-F bonds, indicating that the plasma surface effects prmote the activation and decomposition of SF6 molecules. Furthermore, the stepwise degradation process of SF6 on γ-Al2O3 surface were investigated. The influence of radicals produced by plasma on the degradation process was analyzed. It was found that via Eley–Rideal (ER) reactions, high-energy radicals could effectively reduce the activation barriers and promote the surface reactions. Finally, the degradation mechanism of SF6 molecules in the packed bed plasma system was summarized, which may provide a theoretical basis for the study of harmless degradation of SF6. Keywords: SF6; Packed Bed DBD; Discharge Parameters; Products Analysis; Degradation Mechanism |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
|
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
Most recent IF: NA |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:180819 |
Serial |
7946 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Clima, S.; O'Sullivan, B.J.; Ronchi, N.; Bardon, M.G.; Banerjee, K.; Van den Bosch, G.; Pourtois, G.; van Houdt, J. |
|
| |
Title |
Ferroelectric switching in FEFET : physics of the atomic mechanism and switching dynamics in HfZrOx, HfO2 with oxygen vacancies and Si dopants |
Type |
P1 Proceeding |
| |
Year |
2020 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
|
| |
Keywords |
P1 Proceeding; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
The fine balance between dipole-field energy and anion drift force defines the switching mechanism during polarization reversal: for the first time we show that only Pbcm mechanism obeys the ferroelectric switching physics, whereas P4(2)/nmc (or any other) mechanism does not. However, with lower energy barrier, it represents an important antiferroelectric mechanism. Constraints relaxation can lead to 90 degrees polarization rotation (domain deactivation). Intrinsically, the Si/VO-doping can switch faster than undoped HfO2 or HfZrOx. Theoretical Arrhenius model / intrinsic material switching (DFT) overestimates the switching speed extracted from experiments. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
000717011600218 |
Publication Date |
2021-03-11 |
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
978-1-7281-8888-1 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
Most recent IF: NA |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:184730 |
Serial |
7963 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Clima, S.; McMitchell, S.R.C.; Florent, K.; Nyns, L.; Popovici, M.; Ronchi, N.; Di Piazza, L.; Van Houdt, J.; Pourtois, G. |
|
| |
Title |
First-principles perspective on poling mechanisms and ferroelectric/antiferroelectric behavior of Hf1-xZrxO2 for FEFET applications |
Type |
P1 Proceeding |
| |
Year |
2018 |
Publication |
2018 Ieee International Electron Devices Meeting (iedm) |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
|
| |
Keywords |
P1 Proceeding; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
We investigate at the atomic level the most probable phase transformations under strain, that are responsible for the ferroelectric/ antiferroelectric behavior in Hf1-xZrxO2 materials. Four different crystalline phase transformations exhibit a polar/non-polar transition: monoclinic-to-orthorhombic requires a gliding strain tensor, orthorhombic-to-orthorhombic transformation does not need strain to polarize the material, whereas tetragonal-to-cubic cell compression and tetragonal-to-orthorhombic cell elongation destabilizes the non-polar tetragonal phase, facilitating the transition towards a polar atomic configuration, therefore changing the polarization-electric field loop from antiferroelectric to ferroelectric. Oxygen vacancies can reduce drastically the polarization reversal barriers. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
000459882300073 |
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
978-1-72811-987-8; 978-1-72811-987-8 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:158693 |
Serial |
7972 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Sankaran, K.; Moors, K.; Dutta, S.; Adelmann, C.; Tokei, Z.; Pourtois, G. |
|
| |
Title |
Metallic ceramics for low resitivity interconnects : an ab initio insight |
Type |
P1 Proceeding |
| |
Year |
2018 |
Publication |
Proceedings of the IEEE ... International Interconnect Technology Conference
T2 – IEEE International Interconnect Technology Conference (IITC), JUN 04-07, 2018, Santa Clara, CA |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
160-162 |
|
| |
Keywords |
P1 Proceeding; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
The scalability potential of low resistivity ternary metallic alloys (MAX) as an interconnect medium has been benchmarked against copper through first-principle simulations. We report that some carbon and nitrogen MAX phases have the potential to display a reduced sensitivity of their intrinsic resistivity to scaling, while showing improved electromigration properties. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
000468672900053 |
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
978-1-5386-4337-2; 978-1-5386-4337-2 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:160474 |
Serial |
8219 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Cong, S. |
|
| |
Title |
Numerical study on low-pressure hollow cathode argon arc plasma |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2021 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
XIX, 126 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Philosophy; Educational sciences; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
The low-pressure hollow cathode discharge made of a hollow circular tube and an anode is a type of simple structure discharge system. In particular, under the arc discharge mode, hollow cathodes have high plasma density and energy density with a wide range of adaptability of pressure and current. Low-pressure hollow cathode arc (HCA) discharges have been widely used as plasma sources in various fields such as manufacturing, vacuum welding, and aerospace since the 1960s. Despite the early experimental and applied researches on low-pressure HCA discharges, the basic theoretical study was relatively lagged much behind, resulting in many unanswered questions, such as the optimal discharge operating parameters, the power deposition inside the cathode, the causes of plasma instability, and how to effectively reduce cathode erosion and so on. Due to the special discharge structure of the hollow cathode, it is difficult to make an accurate experimental diagnosis, so a reasonable numerical simulation is an effective study method. However, up to now, there is still a lack of complete and effective numerical models which can evaluate various physical fields in the low-pressure hollow cathode discharges. To address the above problems and difficulties, a comprehensive and self-consistent 2D multi-physical coupling numerical model based on a commercial program of finite element method, the COMSOL Multiphysics, was provided in this paper. The model involves plasma transport, arc flow and heat transfer, and cathode thermal equilibrium, and can consider the effect of an applied magnetic field. The processes of secondary electron emission, thermal-field electron emission, ions and backflow high-energy electrons bombardment, and thermal radiation from the cathode surface are considered in the cathode thermal equilibrium process. Based on the above background, this paper works from the following aspects： In Chapter 1, the basic concepts of low-pressure HCA discharge including the hollow cathode effect, the basic characteristics, and operation modes were introduced firstly; Secondly, the application fields, development history, and overseas and domestic research status of hollow cathode discharge were reviewed; finally, the problems were presented and the research background was explained, and the research purpose of this paper was clarified. In Chapter 2, a complete and self-consistent numerical model of low-pressure hollow cathode discharge was proposed based on the fundamental theory and assumptions, and the set of control equations and boundary conditions in the model were elaborated. In addition, the electron energy distribution function, the collision processes, the solving tools of this model, and calculation schemes were introduced in detail. Finally, a validation example was given to test the rationality and applicability of the numerical model. In Chapter 3, the fundamental plasma properties of low-pressure hollow cathode arcs were investigated. Firstly, the ion Joule heating effect was studied. The results showed that the temperature distributions of the arc and cathode are only able to approach the experimental measurements after considering the ion Joule heating, which shows that the Joule heating of ions is crucial for the heating of the arc plasma. Secondly, by comparing the radial distribution of electron and ion density inside the cathode, the structure of the cathode sheath could be simulated well using this model. Finally, it was shown that the thermal radiation from the cathode surface is an important cooling mechanism of the cathode and only under higher surface emissivity can balance the larger heat flow given by the plasma to the cathode, and the temperature distribution of the cathode shows a non-monotonic increasing trend and is consistent with the profile of experimental measurement so that the so-called active zone is formed. In Chapter 4, the power deposition in the low-pressure HCA was studied in simulation. Two main aspects were considered: the power deposition into particles (both electrons and heavy particles) and the power deposition onto the cathode. It was found that the deposited power into particles increases with the rise of discharge current, but there is no effect on the total power deposition onto the cathode. In high-density plasmas, Coulomb collisions between electrons and ions also become very important, especially since a portion of the deposition energy on heavy particles comes mainly from the energy transfer from electrons to ions. It was also found that regardless of external parameters, half of the power deposition onto the cathode always comes from the particle contribution, while the other half is the net contribution of heat transfer and cathode radiation. The HCA model also allows the simulation of multiple discharge modes for low-pressure HCA discharges over a wide range of gas flow rates. It was also shown that the discharge operating conditions and the external magnetic field can change the distribution of the particle flow on the cathode wall. In Chapter 5, the ion sputtering erosion process on the cathode was simulated by coupling the HCA numerical model with the moving grid technique. The results showed that the ion sputtering erosion on the cathode depends on the ion flux and the plasma potential near the cathode wall and that their distribution and magnitude jointly determine the erosion morphology of the cathode. It was also found that the location of the most severe erosion on the cathode is located in the region of the densest ion flux on the cathode wall, rather than in the longitudinal correspondence with the central region of the internal positive column (IPC). The external magnetic fields can mitigate the cathode erosion and reduce the erosion depth, but stronger magnetic fields lead to a concentration of current density at the cathode tip, which can enhance erosion slightly at the cathode outlet end. Finally, the conclusions and innovation highlights were summarized, and prospects for future work were discussed. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
|
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
Most recent IF: NA |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:178725 |
Serial |
8323 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Belov, I. |
|
| |
Title |
Plasma-assisted conversion of carbon dioxide |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2017 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
|
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
|
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:146275 |
Serial |
8387 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Ghasemitarei, M. |
|
| |
Title |
Study of the interaction of plasma radicals with malignant tumor cells by means of Molecular Dynamics simulation |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2019 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
117 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
abstract not available |
|
| |
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 |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:164763 |
Serial |
8606 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Van Loenhout, J. |
|
| |
Title |
Targeting pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and glioblastoma with oxidative stress-mediated treatment strategies : focus on tumor cell death and modulation of the tumor microenvironment |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2021 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
167 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Center for Oncological Research (CORE) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) are two of the most malignant solid tumor types with poor survival rates, which underscore the urgency of novel and efficacious treatment strategies. Within the last decade, immunotherapy has been established as a breakthrough in cancer therapy. This mainly has been driven by the clinical data and approval associated with several immune checkpoint inhibitors (e.g. anti-CTLA-4 and anti-PD-1/L1). Despite the clinical benefit in specific tumor types, these inhibitors have not yet fulfilled their promise in low immunogenic tumors such as PDAC and GBM. Oxidative stress in cancer cells due to elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) and an inability to balance intracellular redox state has recently been highlighted as promising target for anticancer treatment strategies with possible immunogenic effects. In this PhD dissertation, I investigated novel oxidative stress-mediated treatment approaches to target PDAC and GBM and to enhance immunogenicity by inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD). In the first part of this thesis (chapter 2), I reviewed the mechanistic responses of cancer cells towards different oxidative stress-inducing treatment strategies and their immunomodulating effects. The resulting literature demonstrated that different exogenous and endogenous ROS-inducing therapies show direct and indirect immunomodulating effects, which can be either immunostimulatory or immunosuppressive. One of the indirect immunostimulatory effects of the ROS-mediating therapies is the capacity of inducing immunogenic cell death (ICD) in tumor cells, which can increase the immunogenicity and consequently can trigger an antitumoral immune response. In chapter 3, I investigated a novel exogenous ROS-inducing treatment method, namely cold atmospheric plasma, to determine the therapeutic and ICD-inducing effects in PDAC, in vitro. I revealed that plasma-treated PBS (pPBS) has the potential to induce ICD in pancreatic cancer cells (PCCs) and to reduce the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME) by attacking the tumor supportive pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs). Although the cell death induced in PSCs was non-immunogenic as seen by the lack of danger-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) emission and DC activation, I showed that pPBS could disrupt the physical barrier and lower the immunosuppressive secretion profile (lower TGF-β) of PSCs. In contrast, DAMPs were released by PCCs after treatment with pPBS which resulted in activation and maturation of DCs and a more immunostimulatory secretion profile (higher TNF-α, IFN-γ). Hence, indirect plasma treatment via pPBS has the potential to enhance immunogenicity in PDAC by triggering ICD and by attacking the immunosuppressive PSCs. Tumor cells can evolve adaptation mechanisms to protect themselves against intrinsic oxidative stress by upregulation of pro-survival molecules and their antioxidant defense system to maintain the redox balance. As such, tumor cells can become resistant towards exogenous ROS-inducing therapies, like plasma. Dual targeting of the redox balance of tumor cells by increasing exogenous levels of ROS and inhibiting the antioxidant defense system can maximally exploit ROS-mediated cell death mechanisms as therapeutic anticancer strategy. In this regard, cold atmospheric plasma was combined with auranofin, a thioredoxin reductase inhibitor, in GBM (chapter 4). A synergistic effect was shown after this combination treatment in 2D and 3D, however, in 3D only high concentrations of auranofin synergized with plasma treatment. I confirmed a ROS-mediated response after combination treatment, which was able to induce distinct cell death mechanisms, specifically apoptosis and ferroptosis. Additionally, the auranofin and plasma combined treatment strategy induced cell death, which resulted in an increased release of DAMPs. Together with the observed DC maturation, these results indicates the potential increase in immunogenicity, though, the phagocytotic capacity of DCs was inhibited by auranofin. In chapter 5, I evaluated this promising oxidative stress combination therapy in GBM, in vivo. A decrease in tumor kinetics and an increased survival in GBM-bearing mice was observed when auranofin was sequentially combined with direct plasma treatment. No T cell infiltration was observed after auranofin monotherapy. However, further characterization of the TME after the combination therapy is necessary to provide more insight in the immunogenic effects in vivo. In conclusion, this PhD dissertation comprises novel and important therapeutic and immunogenic insights in cold atmospheric plasma and auranofin as promising oxidative stress-mediated treatment strategies for low immunogenic tumors, like PDAC and GBM. These preclinical results provide a solid basis for future research towards combinations with immunotherapeutic approaches. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
|
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
|
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
Most recent IF: NA |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:181309 |
Serial |
8643 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Yu, H.; Schaekers, M.; Chew, S.A.; Eyeraert, J.-L.; Dabral, A.; Pourtois, G.; Horiguchi, N.; Mocuta, D.; Collaert, N.; De Meyer, K. |
|
| |
Title |
Titanium (germano-)silicides featuring 10-9 Ω.cm2 contact resistivity and improved compatibility to advanced CMOS technology |
Type |
P1 Proceeding |
| |
Year |
2018 |
Publication |
2018 18th International Workshop On Junction Technology (iwjt) |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
80-84
T2 - 18th International Workshop on Junction |
|
| |
Keywords |
P1 Proceeding; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
uIn this work, we discuss three novel Ti (germano-)silicidation techniques featuring respectively the pre-contact amorphization implantation (PCAI), the TiSi co-deposition, and Ti atomic layer deposition (ALD). All three techniques form TiSix(Ge-y) contacts with ultralow contact resistivity (rho(c)) of (1-3)x10(-9) Omega.cm(2) on both highly doped n-Si and p-SiGe substrates: these techniques meet rho(c) requirement of 5-14 nm CMOS technology and feature unified CMOS contact solutions. We further discuss the compatibility of these techniques to the realistic CMOS transistor fabrication. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
000502768600020 |
Publication Date |
|
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
978-1-5386-4511-6; 978-1-5386-4511-6 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:165190 |
Serial |
8673 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Tampieri, F.; Espona-Noguera, A.; Labay, C.; Ginebra, M.-P.; Yusupov, M.; Bogaerts, A.; Canal, C. |
|
| |
Title |
Does non-thermal plasma modify biopolymers in solution? A chemical and mechanistic study for alginate |
Type |
A1 Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2023 |
Publication |
Biomaterials Science |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
|
| |
Keywords |
A1 Journal Article; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ; |
|
| |
Abstract |
In the last decades, non-thermal plasma has been extensively investigated as a relevant tool for various biomedical applications, ranging from tissue decontamination to regeneration and from skin treatment to tumor therapies. This high versatility is due to the different kinds and amount of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species that can be generated during a plasma treatment and put in contact with the biological target. Some recent studies report that solutions of biopolymers with the ability to generate hydrogels, when treated with plasma, can enhance the generation of reactive species and influence their stability, resulting thus in the ideal media for indirect treatments of biological targets. The direct effects of the plasma treatment on the structure of biopolymers in water solution, as well as the chemical mechanisms responsible for the enhanced generation of RONS, are not yet fully understood. In this study, we aim at filling this gap by investigating, on the one hand, the nature and extent of the modifications induced by plasma treatment in alginate solutions, and, on the other hand, at using this information to explain the mechanisms responsible for the enhanced generation of reactive species as a consequence of the treatment. The approach we use is twofold: (i) investigating the effects of plasma treatment on alginate solutions, by size exclusion chromatography, rheology and scanning electron microscopy and (ii) study of a molecular model (glucuronate) sharing its chemical structure, by chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry and by molecular dynamics simulations. Our results point out the active role of the biopolymer chemistry during direct plasma treatment. Short-lived reactive species, such as OH radicals and O atoms, can modify the polymer structure, affecting its functional groups and causing partial fragmentation. Some of these chemical modifications, like the generation of organic peroxide, are likely responsible for the secondary generation of long-lived reactive species such as hydrogen peroxide and nitrite ions. This is relevant in view of using biocompatible hydrogels as vehicles for storage and delivery reactive species for targeted therapies. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
000973699000001 |
Publication Date |
2023-04-11 |
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
2047-4830 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
6.6 |
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
Not_Open_Access |
|
| |
Notes |
Agència de Gestió d’Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca, SGR2022-1368 ; H2020 European Research Council, 714793 ; European Cooperation in Science and Technology, CA19110 CA20114 ; Secretaría de Estado de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, PID2019-103892RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 ; We thank Gonzalo Rodríguez Cañada and Xavier Solé-Martí (Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya) for help in collecting some of the experimental data and for the useful discussions. This work has been primarily funded by the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement no. 714793). The authors acknowledge MINECO for PID2019103892RB-I00/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 project (CC). The authors belong to SGR2022-1368 (FT, AEN, CL, MPG, CC) and acknowledge Generalitat de Catalunya for the ICREA Academia Award for Excellence in Research of CC. We thank also COST Actions CA20114 (Therapeutical Applications of Cold Plasmas) and CA19110 (Plasma Applications for Smart and Sustainable Agriculture) for the stimulating environment provided. |
Approved |
Most recent IF: 6.6; 2023 IF: 4.21 |
|
| |
Call Number |
PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:196773 |
Serial |
8794 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Kovács, A.; Janssens, N.; Mielants, M.; Cornet, I.; Neyts, E.C.; Billen, P. |
|
| |
Title |
Biocatalyzed vinyl laurate transesterification in natural deep eutectic solvents |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
| |
Year |
2023 |
Publication |
Waste and biomass valorization |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
1-12 |
|
| |
Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT); Biochemical Wastewater Valorization & Engineering (BioWaVE); Intelligence in PRocesses, Advanced Catalysts and Solvents (iPRACS) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Purpose Natural deep eutectic solvents (NADES) represent a green alternative to conventional organic solvents as reaction medium, offering more benign properties. To efficiently design NADES for biocatalysis, a better understanding of their effect on these reactions is needed. We hypothesize that this effect can be described by separately considering (1) the solvent interactions with the substrates, (2) the solvent viscosities and (3) the enzyme stability in NADES. Methods We investigated the effect of substrate solvation and viscosity on the reaction rate; and the stability of the enzyme in NADES. To this end, we monitored the conversion over time of the transesterification of vinyl laurate with 1- butanol by the lipase enzyme Candida antarctica B in NADES of different compounds and molar ratios. Results The initial reaction rate is higher in most NADES ( varying between 1.14 and 15.07 mu mol min(-1) mg(-1)) than in the reference n-hexane (4.0 mu mol min(-1) mg(-1))), but no clear relationship between viscosity and initial reaction rate was found. The increased reaction rate is most likely related to the solvation of the substrate due to a change in the activation energy of the reaction or a change in the conformation of the substrate. The enzyme retained part of its activity after the first 2 h of reaction (on average 20 % of the substrate reacted in the 2-24 h period). Enzyme incubation in ethylene glycol-based NADES resulted in a reduced reaction rate ( 15.07 vs. 3.34 mu mol min(-1) mg(-1)), but this may also be due to slow dissolution of the substrate. Conclusions The effect of viscosity seems to be marginal next to the effect of solvation and possible enzyme-NADES interaction. The enzyme retains some of its activity during the 24-hour measurements, but the enzyme incubation experiments did not yield accurate, comparable values. [GRAPHICS] . |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
001117290800003 |
Publication Date |
2023-12-07 |
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1877-2641; 1877-265x |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
3.2 |
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
Most recent IF: 3.2; 2023 IF: 1.337 |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:202709 |
Serial |
9005 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Xu, W. |
|
| |
Title |
Plasma-catalytic DRM : study of LDH derived catalyst for DRM in a GAP plasma system |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2023 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
350 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Laboratory of adsorption and catalysis (LADCA); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Plasma is considered one of the promising technologies to solve greenhouse gas problems, as it can activate CO2 and CH4 at relatively low temperatures. Among the various types of plasmas, the gliding arc plasmatron (GAP) is promising, as it has a high level of non-equilibrium and high electron density. Nevertheless, the conversion of CO2 and CH4 in the GAP reactor is limited. Therefore, combining the GAP reactor with catalysts and making use of the heat produced by the plasma to provide thermal energy to the catalyst, forming a post-plasma catalytic (PPC) system, is hypothesized to improve its performance. Therefore, in this PhD research, we investigate important aspects of the PPC concept towards the use of the heat produced by GAP plasma to heat the plasma bed, without additional energy input. Aiming at this, based on a literature study (chapter 1), Ni-loaded layered double hydroxide (LDH) derived catalyst with good thermal catalytic DRM performance were chosen as the catalyst material. Before applying the LDH as a support material, the rehydration property of calcined LDH in moist and liquid environment was studied as part of chapter 2. The data indicated that after high temperatures calcination (600-900 C), the obtained layered double oxides (LDOs) can rehydrate into LDH, although, the rehydrated LDH were different from the original LDH. In chapter 3, different operating conditions, such as gas flow rate, gas compositions (e.g. CH4/CO2 ratio and nitrogen dilution), and addition of H2O were studied to investigate optimal conditions for PPC DRM, identifying possible differences in temperature profiles and exhaust gas compositions that might influence the catalytic performance. Subsequently, the impact of different PPC configurations, making use of the heat and exhaust gas composition produced by the GAP plasma, is shown in Chapter 4. Experiments studying the impact of adjusting the catalyst bed distance to the post-plasma, the catalyst amount, the influence of external heating (below 250 C) and the addition of H2O are discussed. As only limited improvement in the performance was achieved, a new type of catalyst bed was designed and utilized, as described in chapter 5. This improved configuration can realize better heat and mass transfer by directly connecting to the GAP device. The performance was improved and became comparable to the traditional thermal catalytic DRM results obtained at 800 C, although obtained by a fully electrically driven plasma. |
|
| |
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:201534 |
Serial |
9074 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Vervloessem, E. |
|
| |
Title |
The role of pulsing and humidity in plasma-based nitrogen fixation : a combined experimental and modeling study |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2023 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
358 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Nitrogen (N) is an indispensable building block for all living organisms as well as for pharmaceutical and chemical industry. In a nutshell, N is needed for plants to grow and beings to live and nitrogen fixation (NF) is the process that makes N available for plants as food by converting N2 into a reactive form, such as ammonia (NH3) or nitrogen oxides (NOx), upon reacting with O2 and H2. The aim of this thesis is to elucidate (wet) plasma-based nitrogen fixation with a focus on (1) the role of pulsing in achieving low energy consumption, (2) the role of H2O as a hydrogen source in nitrogen fixation and (3) elucidation of nitrogen fixation pathways in humid air and humid N2 plasma in a combined experimental and computational study. Furthermore, this thesis aims to take into account the knowledge-gaps and challenges identified in the discussion of the state of the art. Specifically, (1) we put our focus on branching out to another way of introducing water into the plasma system, i.e. H2O vapor, (2) we de-couple the problem for pathway elucidation by starting with characterization of the chosen plasma, next a simpler gas mixture and building up from there, (3) we include modelling, though not under wet conditions and (4) we focus on also analyzing species and performance outside liquid H2O. Firstly, based on the reaction analysis of a validated quasi-1D model, we can conclude that pulsing is indeed the key factor for energy-efficient NOx- formation, due to the strong temperature drop it causes. Secondly, the thesis shows that added H2O vapor, and not liquid H2O, is the main source of H for NH3 generation. Related to this, we discuss how the selectivity of plasma-based NF in humid air and humid N2 can be controlled by changing the humidity in the feed gas. Interestingly, NH3 production can be achieved in both N2 and air plasmas using H2O as a H source. Lastly, we identified a significant loss mechanism for NH3 and HNO2 that occurs in systems where these species are synthesized simultaneously, i.e. downstream from the plasma, HNO2 reacts with NH3 to form NH4NO2, which decomposes into N2 and H2O. This reduces the effective NF when not properly addressed, and should therefore be considered in future works aimed at optimizing plasma-based NF. In conclusion, this thesis adds further to the current state of the art of plasma-based NF both in the presence of H2O and in dry systems. |
|
| |
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:197038 |
Serial |
9088 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Grünewald, L.; Chezganov, D.; De Meyer, R.; Orekhov, A.; Van Aert, S.; Bogaerts, A.; Bals, S.; Verbeeck, J. |
|
| |
Title |
Supplementary Information for “In-situ Plasma Studies using a Direct Current Microplasma in a Scanning Electron Microscope” |
Type |
Dataset |
| |
Year |
2023 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
|
| |
Keywords |
Dataset; Engineering sciences. Technology; Electron microscopy for materials research (EMAT); Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Supplementary information for the article “In-situ Plasma Studies using a Direct Current Microplasma in a Scanning Electron Microscope” containing the videos of in-situ SEM imaging (mp4 files), raw data/images, and Jupyter notebooks (ipynb files) for data treatment and plots. Link to the preprint: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2308.15123 Explanation of the data files can be found in the Information.pdf file. The Videos folder contains the in-situ SEM image series mentioned in the paper. If there are any questions/bugs, feel free to contact me at lukas.grunewaldatuantwerpen.be |
|
| |
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 |
Not_Open_Access |
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
Most recent IF: NA |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:203389 |
Serial |
9100 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Biondo, O. |
|
| |
Title |
Towards a fundamental understanding of energy-efficient, plasma-based CO<sub>2</sub> conversion |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2023 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
221 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Plasma-based CO2 conversion is worldwide gaining increasing interest. The aim of this work is to find potential pathways to improve the energy efficiency of plasma-based CO2 conversion beyond what is feasible for thermal chemistry. To do so, we use a combination of modeling and experiments to better understand the underlying mechanisms of CO2 conversion, ranging from non-thermal to thermal equilibrium conditions. Zero-dimensional (0D) chemical kinetics modelling, describing the detailed plasma chemistry, is developed to explore the vibrational kinetics of CO2, as the latter is known to play a crucial role in the energy efficient CO2 conversion. The 0D model is successfully validated against pulsed CO2 glow discharge experiments, enabling the reconstruction of the complex dynamics underlying gas heating in a pure CO2 discharge, paving the way towards the study of gas heating in more complex gas mixtures, such as CO2 plasmas with high dissociation degrees. Energy-efficient, plasma-based CO2 conversion can also be obtained upon the addition of a reactive carbon bed in the post-discharge region. The reaction between solid carbon and O2 to form CO allows to both reduce the separation costs and increase the selectivity towards CO, thus, increasing the energy efficiency of the overall conversion process. In this regard, a novel 0D model to infer the mechanism underlying the performance of the carbon bed over time is developed. The model outcome indicates that gas temperature and oxygen complexes formed at the surface of solid carbon play a fundamental and interdependent role. These findings open the way towards further optimization of the coupling between plasma and carbon bed. Experimentally, it has been demonstrated that “warm” plasmas (e.g. microwave or gliding arc plasmas) can yield very high energy efficiency for CO2 conversion, but typically only at reduced pressure. For industrial application, it will be important to realize such good energy efficiency at atmospheric pressure as well. However, recent experiments illustrate that the microwave plasma at atmospheric pressure is too close to thermal conditions to achieve a high energy efficiency. Hence, we use a comprehensive set of advanced diagnostics to characterize the plasma and the reactor performance, focusing on CO2 and CO2/CH4 microwave discharges. The results lead to a deeper understanding of the mechanism of power concentration with increasing pressure, typical of plasmas in most gases, which is of great importance for model validation and understanding of reactor performance. |
|
| |
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:197213 |
Serial |
9108 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Xu, W.; Van Alphen, S.; Galvita, V.V.; Meynen, V.; Bogaerts, A. |
|
| |
Title |
Effect of Gas Composition on Temperature and CO2Conversion in a Gliding Arc Plasmatron reactor: Insights for Post‐Plasma Catalysis from Experiments and Computation |
Type |
A1 Journal Article |
| |
Year |
2024 |
Publication |
ChemSusChem |
Abbreviated Journal |
ChemSusChem |
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
|
| |
Keywords |
A1 Journal Article; CO2 conversion · Plasma · Gliding arc plasmatron · Temperature profiles · Computational modelling; Plasma, laser ablation and surface modeling Antwerp (PLASMANT) ; |
|
| |
Abstract |
Plasma‐based CO<sub>2</sub>conversion has attracted increasing interest. However, to understand the impact of plasma operation on post‐plasma processes, we studied the effect of adding N<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub>and N<sub>2</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub>/H<sub>2</sub>O to a CO<sub>2</sub>gliding arc plasmatron (GAP) to obtain valuable insights into their impact on exhaust stream composition and temperature, which will serve as feed gas and heat for post‐plasma catalysis (PPC). Adding N<sub>2</sub>improves the CO<sub>2</sub>conversion from 4 % to 13 %, and CH<sub>4</sub>addition further promotes it to 44 %, and even to 61 % at lower gas flow rate (6 L/min), allowing a higher yield of CO and hydrogen for PPC. The addition of H<sub>2</sub>O, however, reduces the CO<sub>2</sub>conversion from 55 % to 22 %, but it also lowers the energy cost, from 5.8 to 3 kJ/L. Regarding the temperature at 4.9 cm post‐plasma, N<sub>2</sub>addition increases the temperature, while the CO<sub>2</sub>/CH<sub>4</sub>ratio has no significant effect on temperature. We also calculated the temperature distribution with computational fluid dynamics simulations. The obtained temperature profiles (both experimental and calculated) show a decreasing trend with distance to the exhaust and provide insights in where to position a PPC bed. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
001200297300001 |
Publication Date |
2024-04-11 |
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1864-5631 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
8.4 |
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
We acknowledge the VLAIO Catalisti Moonshot project D2M and the VLAIO Catalisti transition project CO2PERATE (HBC.2017.0692) for financial support. We acknowledge Gilles Van Loon for his help to make the quartz and steel devices for the reactor. Vladimir V. Galvita also acknowledges a personal grant from the Research Fund of Ghent University (BOF; 01N16319). |
Approved |
Most recent IF: 8.4; 2024 IF: 7.226 |
|
| |
Call Number |
PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:205101 |
Serial |
9128 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Osorio-Tejada, J.; Escriba-Gelonch, M.; Vertongen, R.; Bogaerts, A.; Hessel, V. |
|
| |
Title |
CO₂ conversion to CO via plasma and electrolysis : a techno-economic and energy cost analysis |
Type |
A1 Journal article |
| |
Year |
2024 |
Publication |
Energy & environmental science |
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
|
|
| |
Keywords |
A1 Journal article; Engineering sciences. Technology; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Electrification and carbon capture technologies are essential for achieving net-zero emissions in the chemical sector. A crucial strategy involves converting captured CO2 into CO, a valuable chemical feedstock. This study evaluates the feasibility of two innovative methods: plasma activation and electrolysis, using clean electricity and captured CO2. Specifically, it compares a gliding arc plasma reactor with an embedded novel carbon bed system to a modern zero-gap type low-temperature electrolyser. The plasma method stood out with an energy cost of 19.5 GJ per tonne CO, marking a 43% reduction compared to electrolysis and conventional methods. CO production costs for plasma- and electrolysis-based plants were $671 and $962 per tonne, respectively. However, due to high uncertainty regarding electrolyser costs, the CO production costs in electrolysis-based plants may actually range from $570 to $1392 per tonne. The carbon bed system in the plasma method was a key factor in facilitating additional CO generation from O-2 and enhancing CO2 conversion, contributing to its cost-effectiveness. Challenges for electrolysis included high costs of equipment and low current densities. Addressing these limitations could significantly decrease production costs, but challenges arise from the mutual relationship between intrinsic parameters, such as CO2 conversion, CO2 input flow, or energy cost. In a future scenario with affordable feedstocks and equipment, costs could drop below $500 per tonne for both methods. While this may be more challenging for electrolysis due to complexity and expensive catalysts, plasma-based CO production appears more viable and competitive. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
001218045900001 |
Publication Date |
2024-05-06 |
|
| |
Series Editor |
|
Series Title |
|
Abbreviated Series Title |
|
|
| |
Series Volume |
|
Series Issue |
|
Edition |
|
|
| |
ISSN |
1754-5692; 1754-5706 |
ISBN |
|
Additional Links |
UA library record; WoS full record |
|
| |
Impact Factor |
|
Times cited |
|
Open Access |
|
|
| |
Notes |
|
Approved |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:205986 |
Serial |
9138 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
| |
|
| |
|
Author |
Ahmadi Eshtehardi, H. |
|
| |
Title |
Combined computational-experimental study on plasma and plasma catalysis for N2 fixation |
Type |
Doctoral thesis |
| |
Year |
2024 |
Publication |
|
Abbreviated Journal |
|
|
| |
Volume |
|
Issue |
|
Pages |
160 p. |
|
| |
Keywords |
Doctoral thesis; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT) |
|
| |
Abstract |
Humanity feels the urge of shifting to a sustainable society more than at any other time in its history. Electrification of chemical industry plays a key role in this transition. The possibility of producing fertilizers from air using renewable electricity, and simultaneously, no greenhouse gas emission, resulted in an increasing interest toward plasma technology as a solution for electrification of a part of the chemical industry in the past few years. Additionally, the activation of nitrogen molecules by vibrational and electronic excitation reactions in plasma can lead to an energy-efficient process. Last but not least, the modularity (fast on/off characteristic) of plasma technology makes it capable of using intermittent renewable electricity on site for the production of fertilizers using air. All these advantages offered by plasma technology make it a potential solution for the on-site production of fertilizers in small and decentralized plants using air and renewable electricity, which leads to a considerable reduction in fertilizer production and transportation costs. However, industrialization of plasma-based NF suffers from several challenges, including challenges of plasma catalysis for the selective production of desired species, the high energy cost of plasma-based NF compared to current industrial processes, and the design and development of scaled up and energy-efficient plasma reactors for industrial purposes. In the framework of this thesis we have tried to add to the state-of-the-art (SOTA) in plasma-based NOx production and deal with its limitations using a combination of experimental and modelling work. |
|
| |
Address |
|
|
| |
Corporate Author |
|
Thesis |
|
|
| |
Publisher |
|
Place of Publication |
|
Editor |
|
|
| |
Language |
|
Wos |
|
Publication Date |
2024-06-14 |
|
| |
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 |
no |
|
| |
Call Number |
UA @ admin @ c:irua:205246 |
Serial |
9139 |
|
| Permanent link to this record |
