Collaborative Research: ECLIPSE: Exploring Non-Oxidative Reaction Pathways of Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas

该奖项支持北卡罗来纳州州立大学、克拉克森大学和得克萨斯州农工大学之间的一个合作项目，以探索低温等离子体中的化学反应途径。低温等离子体（LTP）的应用范围从微电子制造和人体植入到激光和太阳能电池制造。这些技术的成功发展依赖于等离子体产生的离子和自由基的反应。 虽然已经进行了大量的工作来识别和量化活性氧和氮物质，但是由等离子体产生的非氧化物质（例如离子和亚稳原子）的产生机制和随后的反应在很大程度上是未知的。这些物种已被提议用于一系列独特的等离子体化学转化，包括使用多相气液等离子体反应器从水中去除被称为“永久化学品”的有毒全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）。 该项目旨在加速等离子体反应器的开发和扩大规模，以降解和破坏PFAS，并得到等离子体科学与工程领先创新生态系统（ECLIPSE）和可持续发展的关键方面（CAS）的支持：可持续化学的创新解决方案（CAS-SC）计划。该项目旨在阐明与液态水接触的大气压等离子体产生的光子，可吸收物质，自由基和带电粒子的非氧化化学反应机制和途径。实现这些目标的中央方法涉及测量去除率的四个不可氧化的氟化化合物在三个气液等离子体反应器的定义明确的流体动力学和相关的通量从两个不同的大气压等离子体射流装置。这项工作的中心假设是溶剂化电子和氢自由基是参与非氧化化学转化的关键物种。短链PFAS的降解机制特别令人感兴趣，因为这些化合物已被证明是极具挑战性的治疗。该项目涉及各级学生，从K-12到研究生，包括那些来自服务不足的社区。主要活动包括为高中生开发便携式等离子水演示装置、在当地儿童博物馆组织化学工程研讨会、参加等离子暑期学校，并利用社交媒体平台创建一系列令人兴奋和引人入胜的技术视频，以鼓励公众对科学的兴趣。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过评估被认为值得支持使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准。

This award supports a collaborative project between North Carolina State University, Clarkson University, and Texas A&M University to explore chemical reaction pathways in low temperature plasmas. The field of low temperature plasmas (LTPs) encompasses applications ranging from microelectronics fabrication and human implants to lasers and solar cell manufacturing. The success of the development of these technologies relies on the reactions of plasma-generated ions and free radicals. While extensive work has been conducted to identify and quantify reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, the generation mechanisms and subsequent reactions of non-oxidative species such as ions and metastable atoms produced by the plasma are largely unknown. These species have been proposed to be deployed for a range of unique plasmochemical transformations, including the removal of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) known as ''forever chemicals'' from water using multiphase gas-liquid plasma reactors. This project aims to accelerate the development and scale up of plasma reactors to degrade and destroy PFAS, and is supported under the ECosystem for Leading Innovation in Plasma Science and Engineering (ECLIPSE) and Critical Aspects of Sustainability (CAS): Innovative Solutions to Sustainable Chemistry (CAS-SC) programs. The project seeks to elucidate non-oxidative chemical reaction mechanisms and pathways of photons, metastables, radicals, and charged particles generated by atmospheric pressure plasmas in contact with liquid water. The central approach for achieving these objectives involves measuring removal rates of four nonoxidizable fluorinated compounds in three gas-liquid plasma reactors of well-defined hydrodynamics and correlating them to the fluxes delivered from two different atmospheric pressure plasma jet devices. The central hypothesis of this effort is that solvated electrons and hydrogen radicals are the key species involved in non-oxidative chemical transformations. The mechanisms underlying the degradation of short-chain PFAS are of particular interest, as these compounds have proven to be extremely challenging to treat. This project involves students at all levels, from K-12 to graduate, including those from under-served communities. Major activities include development of a portable plasma-water demonstration setup for high school students, organization of a Chemical Engineering Workshop at a local children’s museum, participation in plasma summer schools, and utilizing social media platforms to create a series of exciting and engaging technical videos to encourage public interest in science.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.