Gas conversions via the activation of small and inert molecules with strong chemical bonds (e.g., CO2, CH4 and N2) for the production of higher-value fuels and chemicals has attracted significant interest. However, the activation of these molecules remains a great challenge as they are thermodynamically stable and requires a significant amount of energy for their activation using heterogeneous catalysis. Non-thermal plasmas (NTPs) offer an emerging and attractive alternative for the activation of inert molecules with strong chemical bonds at low temperatures and ambient conditions. The electrons generated in NTPs are highly energetic while the gas kinetic temperatures in NTPs remain as low as room temperature, providing a promising route to enable thermodynamically unfavourable reactions to proceed at ambient conditions. In addition, energetic electrons can collide with reactant molecules and create a cascade of chemically reactive species including radicals, excited atoms and molecules for the initiation of chemical reactions. The combination of NTP with heterogeneous catalysis has great potential to generate a synergistic effect from the interactions between the plasma and catalysts, which can activate catalysts at low temperatures and improve the activity and stability of the catalysts, resulting in the remarkable enhancement of conversion, selectivity and yield of end-products, as well as the energy efficiency of the process. Moreover, plasma processes can be switched on and off instantly due to ultrafast reactions, offering great flexibility to be powered by renewable energy particularly the intermittent renewable energy for decentralised chemical energy storage via Power-to-X. In this presentation, we will show the synthesis of fuels and chemicals using plasma catalysis at ambient conditions: i) single-step biogas reforming to liquid fuels and chemicals; ii) CO2 hydrogenation; iii) ammonia synthesis from N2 and H2.

Plasma catalysis: An emerging technology for power-to-X

Fall 2022 abstracts, posters, and presentations will launch in mid-September.

ACS Fall 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.