Catalytic Reaction Assisted by Plasma or Electric Field

Abstract

Direct conversion of methane, other hydrocarbons, and alcohol at lower temperatures can be achieved using plasma or an electric field and catalysts. Non-equilibrium plasma enables activation of stable molecules including methane, carbon dioxide, and water, even at low temperatures, by virtue of high electron energy. Use of a hybrid system of plasma and catalyst provided high conversion and selectivity to products by virtue of adsorption on the catalyst. Imposing a DC electric field to the catalyst bed also promotes catalytic reactions, even at low temperatures. Two mechanisms for electro-catalytic reactions are proposed for the DC electric field imposition: reactant activation by surface protonics and production of active surface oxygen species on the catalyst. This review presents summaries of these novel processes.

Keywords: Electric field; Low temperature system; Methane activation; Non-Faradaic reaction; Plasma.