Nonthermal Plasma-Assisted Synthesis of Molybdenum Carbide Thin Film Catalysts

Abstract

Optimization of the nonthermal plasma-assisted method of synthesizing molybdenum carbide thin films on molybdenum particle substrates was initiated using a previously existing experimental setup. The yield of the apparatus used has increased by 20% as the result of redesign. The molybdenum carbide produced through nonthermal plasma has been characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It is tentatively observed by using the TEM that an ethylene concentration of 3% gives the best molybdenum carbide surface layer. The quality of the product is unclear, indicating that further characterization is necessary. This novel method of catalyst production has been tested in very preliminary experiments with a water-gas shift reactor and the CO 2  conversion was 0.5%, suggesting, again, that further optimization is necessary.