Enhanced degradation of aqueous caffeine via cylindrical dielectric barrier discharge plasma: Efficacy and toxicity insights

An environmentally friendly approach for caffeine degradation was explored in this study utilizing cylindrical dielectric barrier discharge (CDBD) plasma. The current-voltage characteristics and the plasma parameters of the CDBD, such as the electron temperature, electron density, density of nitrogen excited states, vibrational temperature, and rotational temperature, were assessed through electrical and optical characterization respectively. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was employed to evaluate the reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) in the plasma-treated air. The physicochemical properties of deionized water (DW) were measured. To gain a deeper insight into the role of RONS in caffeine degradation, their concentrations in DW were analyzed. Furthermore, the effects of initial concentration, sample volume, and pH on caffeine degradation were investigated. The highest degradation of caffeine was 94% at initial concentration of 50 mg L⁻¹, sample volume 50 mL and in neutral pH. Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS) was then used to propose the degradation pathway for caffeine. The major reactive species involved in caffeine degradation was ozone. Finally, the phytotoxicity and cytotoxicity of caffeine were assessed before and after plasma treatment with plasma-treated caffeine (PTC) showing minimal toxicity to both plants and cells.