Low-temperature plasma-enabled CO2 dissociation: a critical analysis of plasma setups and conversion mechanisms toward scale-up valorization

Abstract

CO₂ dissociation, as one of the key pathways for carbon utilization, plays a critical role in sustainable carbon emissions reduction. Low-temperature plasma (LTP) technology, with its highly reactive characteristics, can effectively lower the energy barrier for CO₂ activation, thus facilitating efficient CO₂ dissociation with reduced energy requirement. LTP-enabled CO₂ dissociation has attracted widespread research interests aiming to enhance conversion performance and advance scale-up applications in recent years. Achieving such an objective necessitates dual-level considerations from both the plasma setups, such as power supplies, in-situ, and post-treatment control strategies, and the conversion mechanisms which encompass insights from diagnostic techniques, reaction kinetics simulations, and multi-physics modeling. Following an overview of the basic characteristics of different plasma systems and the distinctions between the CO₂ dissociation processes driven by thermal catalysis and plasma catalysis, this review examines the current developments and existing limitations in LTP setups and conversion mechanisms through comprehensive analyses of experimental achievements and mechanistic investigations in LTP-enabled CO₂ dissociation. Based on those findings, we propose a strategic outlook for the progression of LTP-enabled CO₂ valorization from laboratory research toward scale-up implementations.