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The amazing power of oxygen plasma: Why is it so effective at decomposing organic matter?
Oxygen plasma technology is quickly becoming an important tool for cleaning and removing organic matter from surfaces. This technology is not only efficient, but also environmentally friendly. More and more industries are beginning to adopt it to improve the cleanliness of products and their subsequent use.
The use of oxygen plasma makes the removal of organic matter both economical and effective.
Plasma cleaning is a technology that removes contaminants through high kinetic energy plasma or dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). This process generally uses gases such as argon, oxygen, or their mixtures. The basic principle of this cleaning technology is to ionize low-pressure gases (usually less than one thousandth of an atmosphere) through high-frequency voltages (usually in the kHz to MHz range), although today full-atmospheric pressure plasmas are also increasingly used.
In the plasma state, gas atoms acquire a higher energy state and are ionized. When these atoms and molecules fall back to their normal state, they release photons, which is what we know as the "glow" of plasma. Different gases can produce different colors, for example, oxygen plasma produces a bluish glow. In addition, the active species in the plasma include atoms, molecules, ions, free radicals, etc., and these species will interact with any surface in the plasma.
This technique is very effective and economical for critical cleaning if the gas used is oxygen.
Oxygen plasma can effectively break the chemical bonds of organic matter (such as C–H, C–C, C=C, C–O and C–N), thereby decomposing high molecular weight pollutants. Reactive oxygen species (such as O2+, O2−, O3, O, O+, O−, etc.) in oxygen plasma react with organic pollutants to generate water (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2) and low molecular weight hydrocarbon. These by-products are effectively discharged during the treatment process, ensuring that the treated surface achieves ultra-clean results.
In some cases, an inert gas (such as argon or helium) is used if the part to be processed is composed of materials that are susceptible to oxidation (such as silver or copper). These reactive oxygen species act like tiny sandblasters, breaking down organic contaminants and evaporating in the process. Most of the by-products that escape are small amounts of gases such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, as well as smaller amounts of carbon monoxide and others. Hydrocarbons.
The success of this technique is often evaluated in terms of contact angle. When organic contaminants are present, the contact angle of the water droplet with the material is high, and when the contaminant is removed, the contact angle is reduced to a value that is characteristic of contact with a pure substrate. Technologies used to analyze surface cleaning also include XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) and AFM (atomic force microscopy), which help ensure successful cleaning and sterilization.
Plasma cleaning is rapidly becoming an important tool in the life sciences, materials science and energy fields.
Plasma cleaning also plays a vital role in biomedicine and materials science. In the life sciences, a cell's viability, function, and proliferation are affected by its microenvironment. Plasma is often used as a chemical-free means to introduce biologically relevant functional groups (such as carbonyl, carboxyl, hydroxyl, amine, etc.) to the surface of materials. This not only improves the biocompatibility or bioactivity of the material, but also effectively removes contaminating proteins and microorganisms. Therefore, plasma cleaning has become an indispensable tool in fields such as cell culture, tissue engineering, and implants.
In materials science, surface wettability and modification are important methods to improve material performance without affecting the material's volumetric properties. Plasma cleaning is used to change the surface chemistry of materials, introduce polar functional groups, and enhance adhesion to water-based coatings, adhesives, inks, and epoxy resins. In addition, plasma cleaning can also be applied to microfluidic devices, which are unique in the tiny scale of the environment and can effectively utilize micro- or nanoscale fluid flow technology.
For solar cells and photovoltaic technology, the application of plasma technology can significantly improve conversion efficiency.
Plasma is also increasingly used to improve the performance of solar cells and photovoltaic devices. For example, reducing molybdenum oxide (MoO3) can increase the short-circuit current density, and modifying titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanosheets can improve the efficiency of hydrogen generation. The perfect combination of active plasma to clean and improve surfaces shows endless potential in a variety of advanced applications supporting a better future.
The above data and cases show that oxygen plasma has demonstrated its excellent performance and potential in many fields. However, how will the future development potential of this technology affect our production methods and lifestyles?
