Plasma Interactions at Complex Interfaces—From Catalytic Reactions to In Situ Probing Nanomaterial Modifications

Non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasmas are increasingly used as an enabler of nanomaterial synthesis, functionalization and selective chemical reactions. Despite the growing success of these plasmas in these applications, the mechanistic understanding of these interactions is lagging mainly due to a lack of <i>in situ</i> diagnostic capabilities.<br/><br/>We will present an experimental approach that allows us to quantitatively characterize plasma-catalytic reactions. Key outcomes we will highlight are the dominant effect of transport limitations and the competitive nature between bulk gas phase and surface reactions. Furthermore, we highlight a newly developed diagnostic capability: <i>operando</i> environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) in a plasma environment. As an example, we will report the ability to probe morphological changes of nanoparticles during plasma-nanoparticle interactions.<br/><br/><b>Acknowledgement:</b> This work was supported by the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Fusion Energy Sciences, General Plasma Science program, under Award Number DE-SC-0020232 and by the Army Research Office accomplished under Grants No. W911NF-20-1-0322 and W911NF-20-1-0105.