Recent Advances of Plasma Chemistry and Its Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Years of research and development in low-pressure plasma technologies enabled the development of plasma-based etching and deposition methods (such as plasma etching and PECVD) which were the key drivers for the rapid development of semiconductor devices in recent years. A deep understanding and control of plasma chemistry was essential for further development of those plasma-processing technologies to increase scale (moving to 300 mm Si wafers) and achieve atomic-level precision (plasma enhanced atomic layer etching and deposition). However, increasing demands for the performance of process chemicals and tightening restrictions on carbon footprint are bringing new challenges in low-pressure plasma chemistry.

On the other hand, thanks to the rapid development of atmospheric pressure plasma technology and highly interdisciplinary research there are numerous emerging applications such as gas conversion (e.g., nitrogen fixation), plasma medicine and plasma agriculture. Atmospheric pressure plasma produces both reduced and oxidized nitrogen (e.g., ammonia, nitrogen oxides) from abundant air and water and efficiency can be further improved by combining plasma with catalytic or electrochemical processes. Those reduced and oxidized nitrogen compounds are crucial chemicals in modern agriculture, biomedicine, fuel and energy industry and the possibility to generate plasma using renewable energy sources to produce those compounds looks like the most promising sustainable approach for decarbonizing the industry.

Considering the need for the development of new process chemicals for the semiconductor industry, the need for the development of new green methods of nitrogen compounds production (e.g., ammonia, nitric oxide) and emerging applications of plasma discharges in biology and medicine, there is unlimited number of challenges to be solved in plasma chemistry to enable further sustainable development. I hope this Special Issue in Sustainability will provide an advanced forum for research related to plasma chemistry and role of plasma chemistry in further development, sustainability and decarbonization of industry, including semiconductors, agriculture, medicine and gas conversion.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome.

We cordially invite authors to contribute their works, which we expect to be focused on all aspects of plasma chemistry. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following: experimental and computational research in areas of gas and in-liquid plasma discharges, plasma processing, plasma-medicine, plasma-agriculture, catalysis, plasma diagnostics, etc.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Vladislav Gamaleev
Dr. Nikolay Britun
Dr. Scott J. Doyle
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• plasma chemistry
• plasma catalysis
• nitrogen fixation
• plasma gas conversion
• plasma etching
• PECVD and PEALD
• plasma diagnostics
• plasma medicine
• plasma agriculture