Exploration of non-equilibrium phenomena at a reactive surface induced by a plasma

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Plasmas are widely used for material processing as well as, more recently, for chemistry synthesis. Non-equilibrium low temperature plasmas produce highly reactive species, (V)UV photons, ions, electrons and vibrationally excited molecules near room temperature. In this program, the physics and chemistry of non-equilibrium plasmas in interaction with surfaces (either solid or liquid) will be studied in the framework of different applications such as chemical synthesis, material processing and plasma medicine. Despite a basic understanding of the reactive pathways in plasma with(-out) surfaces, only a very few cases of variation of molecular reactivity with surfaces upon selective vibrational modes or electronic excitation were described experimentally or theoretically. In fact, molecular dynamics or DFT calculations usually assume that the species are in their ground state and have no internal degree of freedom. Also the effects of the plasma species on the surface reactivity are still poorly understood. My research program will focus on the fundamental understanding of excited molecules interactions with surfaces and plasma modifications of the latter by combining in operando state of the art diagnostics characterization of both the plasma and the surface. Fast power pulsing will be used to tune plasma properties and its interactions with surfaces both at low and atmospheric pressure conditions. The first research axis is the investigation of the change of molecules reactivity toward catalyst surfaces under plasma exposure. The second axis of research is the interactions of atmospheric plasmas with water and the study of species solvation dynamics. Next generation electronics require atomic control of the patterning of innovative material stacks. The third axis of my program will be focused on the precise control of plasma surface interactions in plasma etch reactors. The overall goal of the program is, for each thematic, to develop a reactor with facile access to the plasma/surface interface for, in operando, state of the art diagnostics of the plasma and material properties. These experiments will pave the way for the development of new reactors for chemical synthesis and material processing based on a fundamental understanding of the plasma surface interactions. They will also serve as benchmark for modelling of the effect of the plasma on the surface itself and reaction dynamics at the atomic scale. The fundamental knowledge gained by this program will be critical for supporting more applied research in various topics such as green and sustainable chemical synthesis, water purification and biomedical applications. This program will, most importantly, also allow training 4 HQPs (3 PhD, 1 MSc) with state-of-the-art facilities, programs and tools and it will prepare them for work in academia or industry. They will have acquired a broad knowledge on experimental and theoretical tools allowing them to tackle society relevant challenges.