Sustainable and Tunable Mg/MgO Plasmon-Catalytic Platform for the Grand Challenge of SF₆ Environmental Remediation.

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) is one of the most harmful greenhouse gases producing environmental risks. Therefore, developing ways of degrading SF₆ without forming hazardous products is increasingly important. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time the plasmon-catalytic heterogeneous degradation of SF₆ into nonhazardous MgF₂ and MgSO₄ products by nontoxic and sustainable plasmonic magnesium/magnesium oxide (Mg/MgO) nanoparticles, which are also effective as a plasmon-enhanced SF₆ chemometric sensor. The main product depends on the excitation wavelength; when the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) is in the ultraviolet, then MgF₂ forms, while visible light LSPR results in MgSO₄. Furthermore, Mg/MgO platforms can be regenerated in few seconds by hydrogen plasma treatment and can be reused in a new cycle of air purification. Therefore, this research first demonstrates effectiveness of Mg/MgO plasmon-catalysis enabling environmental remediation with the concurrent functionalities of monitoring, degrading, and detecting sulfur and fluorine gases in the atmosphere.

Duke Scholars

Author April S. Brown Electrical and Computer Engineering