Plasma Enhanced Materials Processing

Plasma, often referred to as the fourth state of matter, offers unique advantages for materials processing compared to conventional techniques. By utilizing different gas atmospheres, plasma can be precisely tuned to modify material properties such as hydrophilicity or hydrophobicity, surface charge and functional groups, as well as pore structure. Fraunhofer USA Center Midwest (CMW) specializes in designing and developing customized plasma technologies tailored to various material forms, including powders. These advanced processing methods enable significant enhancements in material performance across a wide range of applications.

Conventional carbon activation methods typically involve high-temperature chemical treatments exceeding 900°C for more than two hours, followed by extensive washing and drying. This energy-intensive and time-consuming process has posed a significant barrier to the commercialization of carbon materials such as biochar for advanced applications.

CMW has developed a patented, highly efficient plasma activation system that overcomes these limitations. This innovative approach enables dynamic activation of biochar in less than 10 minutes without the need for external heating. Plasma activation not only enhances the surface functional groups of biochar but also promotes the formation of micro- and mesopores, significantly improving its adsorption performance.

Overall, this process is more energy-efficient, and more environmentally friendly compared to conventional chemical activation methods.

Carbon-based materials are excellent candidates for electrode applications in energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors, due to their robust pore structures and high surface areas. Their electrochemical performance can be significantly enhanced through targeted modifications, including surface functionalization and pore structure optimization.

CMW utilizes advanced plasma technologies to tailor the morphology of carbon-based materials for energy storage applications. For instance, we have successfully employed plasma-assisted exfoliation of graphite oxide modified MXene, which exhibits outstanding capacitance performance when used as an electrode material for supercapacitors.Our group can help industry and research labs to design highly efficient DC sputtering magnetrons and ion sources.