A stable atmospheric-pressure plasma for extreme-temperature synthesis

Hua Xie, Ning Liu, Qian Zhang, Hongtao Zhong, Liqun Guo, Xinpeng Zhao, Daozheng Li, Shufeng Liu, Zhennan Huang, Aditya Dilip Lele, Alexandra H. Brozena, Xizheng Wang, Keqi Song, Sophia Chen, Yan Yao, Miaofang Chi, Wei Xiong, Jiancun Rao, Minhua Zhao, Mikhail N. ShneiderJian Luo, Ji Cheng Zhao, Yiguang Ju, Liangbing Hu

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Plasmas can generate ultra-high-temperature reactive environments that can be used for the synthesis and processing of a wide range of materials 1,2. However, the limited volume, instability and non-uniformity of plasmas have made it challenging to scalably manufacture bulk, high-temperature materials 3–8. Here we present a plasma set-up consisting of a pair of carbon-fibre-tip-enhanced electrodes that enable the generation of a uniform, ultra-high temperature and stable plasma (up to 8,000 K) at atmospheric pressure using a combination of vertically oriented long and short carbon fibres. The long carbon fibres initiate the plasma by micro-spark discharge at a low breakdown voltage, whereas the short carbon fibres coalesce the discharge into a volumetric and stable ultra-high-temperature plasma. As a proof of concept, we used this process to synthesize various extreme materials in seconds, including ultra-high-temperature ceramics (for example, hafnium carbonitride) and refractory metal alloys. Moreover, the carbon-fibre electrodes are highly flexible and can be shaped for various syntheses. This simple and practical plasma technology may help overcome the challenges in high-temperature synthesis and enable large-scale electrified plasma manufacturing powered by renewable electricity.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)964-971
Number of pages8
JournalNature
Volume623
Issue number7989
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 30 2023

Funding

This project was not directly funded. L.H. acknowledges support from the University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering. Y.J. acknowledges the Department of Energy grant support for the Plasma Science Center and NSF EFRI. J.-C.Z. acknowledges the Minta Martin Professorship fund from the University of Maryland and the Clark Distinguished Chair Professor fund from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. J.L. and K.S. acknowledge partial support from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) under grant no. FA9550-22-1-0413. S/TEM research was supported by the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences (CNMS), which is a US Department of Energy, Office of Science User Facility at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. We acknowledge the support from the University of Maryland NanoCenter and its AIMLab (Advanced Imaging and Microscopy Lab).

FundersFunder number
Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences
University of Maryland A. James Clark School of Engineering
University of Maryland NanoCenter
U.S. Department of Energy
Division of Emerging Frontiers and Multidisciplinary Activities
Air Force Office of Scientific ResearchFA9550-22-1-0413
Office of Science
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
University of Maryland
Department of Energy Plasma Science Center, University of Michigan
A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation

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