Enhanced CO2 decomposition via metallic foamed electrode packed in self-cooling DBD plasma device

A self-cooling dielectric barrier discharge reactor, packed with foamed Cu and Ni mesh and operated at ambient conditions, was used for the composition of CO2 into CO and O-2. The influences of power, frequency, and other discharge characteristics were investigated in order to have a better understanding of the effect of the packing materials on CO2 decomposition. It is found that porous foamed Cu and Ni not only played a role as the carrier of energy transformation and electrode distributed in discharge gaps but also promoted the equilibrium shifting toward the product side to yield more CO by consuming some part of O-2 and O radicals generated from the decomposition of CO2. The maximum CO2 decomposition rates of 48.6% and 49.2% and the maximum energy efficiency of 9.71% and 10.18% were obtained in the foamed Ni and Cu mesh, respectively.