A non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure Capacitively-Coupled-Plasma (CCP) driven at VHF (162 MHz) for plasma catalysis of CO2 into CO

The design of a Very-High-Frequency (VHF) 162 MHz driven atmospheric-pressure Capacitively-Coupled-Plasma (CCP), with top and bottom electrodes operated in push-pull configuration, powered via a Power-Splitting-Transmission-Line-Driver (PSTLD), is presented. Application to the reprocessing of carbon dioxide into carbon-monoxide in this "high” VHF atmospheric plasma is presented, demonstrating some behaviour of the plasma source. rf power in the system is characterized using measured current (~ 1′s Amps peak) and voltage (~ 10′s Volts peak) waveforms at the electrode; Both are sinusoidal confirming a glow-discharge operational condition. Analysis of Optical Emission Spectra results find a highly non-equilibrium plasma, with high vibrational temperatures (from N₂) in the range ~4000 K, while gas temperature, monitored by a thermocouple at the gas outlet, remains low ~300 K, and confirmed by analysis of the N₂ rotational bands. The relative density of CO produced, as a by-product of CO₂ dissociation, is measured optically using N₂ as an actinometer. The CO density increases with rf power and longer gas residence times in the plasma volume. The high VHF atmospheric plasma is found to operate in pure CO₂ flows (no helium) with minimal gas heating for the full range of power densities (specific energy input of 0.4–2 eV per molecule) investigated.