Plasma catalysis for CO₂ decomposition by using different dielectric materials

Despite a large of interest in the field of plasma assisted catalytic technology (PACT), very little has been reported on the catalysis of the different dielectric barriers for a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reaction. In the present study, Ca_0.7Sr_0.3TiO₃ dielectric, that possesses both a high permittivity and a high dielectric strength, was prepared by a liquid phase sintering and used as a dielectric barrier to break CO₂ in order to investigate the efficiency and characteristics of this ceramic on a plasma reaction in a DBD reactor. Its results were compared with commercial alumina and silica glass that possess lower permittivities, while were widely used in the previous studies. Not only the sinterability of the Ca_0.7Sr_0.3TiO₃ dielectric was improved by the 0.5 wt.% Li₂Si₂O₅ additive, but also both the mechanical and dielectric properties of the sintered bodies were increased significantly. This ceramic was successfully used as a barrier, and the CO₂ conversion, which is proportional to permittivity, achieved 15.6%. It was much higher than with those using traditional alumina and silica glass barriers.