The influence of dielectric materials on CO2 conversion performance of pulsed micro-gap cylindrical dielectric barrier discharge reactor

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is a non-thermal plasma technology that shows promise for CO2 conversion. However, its efficiency depends on plasma processing parameters, reactor design, and reactor material. This study focused on the effect of dielectric barrier material on the CO2 conversion performance of a pulsed micro-gap DBD reactor. The results of this study show that the DBD reactor with alumina dielectric produced better CO2 conversion performance than the quartz reactor, with a maximum CO2 conversion of 50.17% compared to 21.91% with the quartz reactor. The DBD reactor with alumina dielectric produced a greater current peak and a higher number of micro-discharges than the quartz reactor, which suggests that the number of micro-discharges plays a dominant role in the CO2 conversion performance of the DBD reactor. The use of high dielectric constant material with high surface roughness could enhance the CO2 conversion performance of pulsed micro-gap DBD reactors.