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P: Fachverband Plasmaphysik

P 13: Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas II

P 13.7: Talk

Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 18:00–18:15, KH 01.020

Post-Plasma Catalysis Schemes in Ammonia Synthesis — •Daniel Henze and Achim von Keudell — Ruhr Universität Bochum, 44801 Bochum, Germany

Current research in plasma catalysis focuses on in-plasma catalysis, where the plasma is operated directly in front of the catalyst surface. This approach poses significant scientific challenges, as the plasma-catalyst interaction may lead to synergisms or anti-synergisms when aiming at maximizing species conversion or species selectivity. This question is explored for plasma catalysis for ammonia production. We use a kHz DBD plasma jet array to study the role of plasma-generated species in ammonia synthesis. The discharge initiates guided streamers that impinge on the catalyst surface as shown in a previous experiment with a comparable plasma source [1]. Due to their short lifetime, the plasma-catalyst contact occurs only for about 2% of the pulse duration. This reduces the coupling of the plasma and the catalyst, to separate the plasma dynamics from the surface chemistry. The jet array consists of two sets of three individual jets. Each set of electrodes is powered independently and fed with different gases. They are operated sequentially to separate nitridation and hydrogenation steps in time similar to chemical looping for thermal catalysis. We characterize the discharge setup and investigate the impact of species injection and discharge timing on the ammonia yield by measuring the product density via a sampling orifice coupled to a molecular beam mass spectrometer.

[1] Daniel Henze et al 2025 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 34 095017

Keywords: Ammonia Synthesis; DBD-APPJ; Mass Spectrometry; Plasma Catalysis