Hydrogenation of CO2 into high-value carbon-containing compounds can effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These plasma-catalysed systems offer convenient reactions under mild conditions, and, combined with their widely distributed, low-cost clay minerals, they can effectively reduce reaction costs and promote their further industrial application. However, research on their synergistic applications remains limited at present. In this work, we propose a model for synergistic catalytic CO2 conversion by coupling clay minerals and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma. The synergistic effects of eight typical clay minerals on CO2 conversion and CO selectivity catalysed by DBD and their influencing factors were explored through a combination of performance tests and characterization using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. Based on the performance and characterization results, minerals exhibiting a two-dimensional tubular structure, increased surface hydroxyl groups, appropriate transition metal active components and low water contents demonstrate greater CO2 conversion rates and CO selectivity. This work demonstrates that clay minerals can be used as effective DBD catalysts and represent low-cost green catalysts for the DBD catalytic system. This is of great significance for the rapid screening of clay minerals that are favourable for CO2 catalytic reactions and their further modification and application.

In this study, an atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge-based argon plasma jet has been modeled using COMSOL Multiphysics, which is based on the finite element method. The fluid dynamics and plasma modules of COMSOL Multiphysics code have been used for the modeling of the plasma jet. The plasma parameters, such as electron density, electron temperature, and electrical potential, have been examined by varying the electrical parameters, that is, supply voltage and supply frequency for both cases of static and with the flow of argon gas. The argon gas flow rate was fixed at 1 l/min. Ring electrode arrangement is subjected to a range of supply frequencies (10–25 kHz) and supply voltages (3.5–6 kV). The experimental results of the ring electrode configuration have been compared with the simulation analysis results. These results help in establishing an optimized operating range of the dielectric barrier discharge-based cold plasma jet in the glow discharge regime without arcing phenomenon. For the applied voltage and supply frequency parameters examined in this work, the discharge was found to be consistently homogeneous and displayed the characteristics of atmospheric pressure glow discharge.

In this study, an atmospheric pressure cold plasma jet has been generated based on dielectric barrier discharge plasma. The double ring electrode configuration is used and analysis has been performed subjected to wide range of supply frequencies up to 25 kHz and supply voltage up to 6 kV. The electrical characterization of the plasma jet has been carried out using a high voltage probe. The V-I characteristics of the developed cold plasma jet have been studied and the consumption of the power has been analyzed at various input combinations of supply frequency and applied voltage. Consequently, the supply voltage and supply frequency are optimized with respect to the discharge current and jet length for optimum power consumption. The peak power consumed for glow discharge operation has been found to be 1.27 W in the optimized configuration.