Plasma deposited nanocomposite thin films as integrated catalytic systems on structured packings: Concepts and applications

Title : Plasma deposited nanocomposite thin films as integrated catalytic systems on structured packings: Concepts and applications

Abstract:

Cold-plasma deposition has emerged as a powerful tool for engineering thin-film nanocomposite catalysts with precisely controlled nano-, molecular, and electronic structures, enabling their use as fully integrated catalytic systems on structured packings. This strategy aligns with the “catalyst-by-design” concept by combining rational materials design with practical engineering aspects: the catalyst can be fabricated as a thin film deposited directly onto a variety of materials and complex shaped supports, without altering its original geometry. The proposed approach provides a straightforward route to advanced gas phase and gas–liquid reactors, where the structured packing retains its hydrodynamic and mechanical properties while acquiring tailored catalytic functionality.

Here, recent developments in plasma deposited nanocomposite thin films fabricated using PECVD (Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) are presented, including CoOx, CuO_x, NiOx, and FeO_x-based materials, as well as nanohybrids such as CoO–WO₃ and CoO–FeO_x. These materials were deposited as uniform thin films (<1 µm) on calcined Kanthal meshes and plates, creating scalable catalytic packings suitable for different applications such as CO₂ hydrogenation, hydrocarbon combustion, CO₂ hydration, and wastewater ozonation.

Among the tested catalysts, cobalt based nanomaterials have been studied most extensively due to the multiple oxidation states and nanostructures of CoO_x, which provide catalytic versatility across different processes. CoO_x-based nanocomposites have shown high activity in hydrocarbon combustion and CO₂ methanation. When applied to structured packings, they outperform conventional catalytic materials and enable stable operation in laboratory-scale reactors. The nanohybrid systems such as CoO–WO₃ and CoO_x–FeO, tested in CO₂ hydrogenation, reveal that their catalytic behavior is not additive but governed by nanoscale heterojunctions formed between the two different metal oxides, leading to a drastic change in CO and CH₄ selectivity compared with the corresponding single-metal-oxide nanocomposite.

Together, these results demonstrate that cold-plasma deposition provides a versatile route for designing catalytic thin films on structured packings. By precise control of their structure, plasma-engineered nanocomposites enable high performance catalytic systems for advanced reactor design in applications such as CO₂ and hydrocarbon conversion and wastewater treatment.

Biography:

Hanna Kierzkowska-Pawlak is a full professor of chemical engineering at the Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, where she leads the Division of Molecular Engineering. In 2016-2017, she was a visiting researcher at Shizuoka University (Japan). Her research focuses on catalytic CO2 conversion to value-added chemicals and advancing absorption technologies for CO2 capture. She is an expert in cold plasma methods for the fabrication of new thin-film nanocatalysts for environmental applications and applies plasma techniques to material surface engineering. She has served as an evaluator for the European Commission in FP7‑ENERGY, Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe calls, and since 2019 has been Chair of the Chemical Engineering Discipline Council at Lodz University of Technology.