On the Mechanism of Copper Oxide Reduction by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma Using H<sub>2</sub> and Ar Mixture Gases

Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma was used to reduce copper oxide at atmospheric pressure using Ar and H 2 mixture gases. Effect of H 2 content on copper oxide reduction was investigated with a constant total flow rate of 100 mlmin -1 when the discharge voltage was kept at 36 kV. The composition of the copper oxide samples before and after DBD plasma treatment was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results showed that energetic electrons and metastable Ar were inefficient for reduction of copper oxide in this study and the highest copper oxide reduction rate was obtained when the H 2 content was 20%. In addition, no Cu 2 O was observed. Optical emission spectra (OES) were observed during reduction of copper oxide at different H 2 contents, and the mechanism for copper oxide reduction using DBD discharge was discussed.