The project MONA aims at developing predictive multiscale physical and numerical models for achieving a breakthrough in the knowledge of Complex Non-equilibrium Hydro-Carbon Plasmas. This development will be supported by dedicated experiments in order to supply input data to the models and to validate the model outputs at the different stages of progress. This strong coupling between experiments and modeling is one of the project added values, since these two aspects are usually treated separately in the research on these plasmas. The innovative character of the project resides in the objective to describe in a robust and consistent approach the complex behavior of these media, from the injection of the original molecules up to the nanoparticle formation and the dynamics of the so-created dusty plasma. Thereby, the nanoparticle characteristics (sizes, charges, composition, structure) will be predicted by the developed models and compared to the experimental measurements. The ultimate goal is to have a numerical tool validated by experiments and able to simulate and predict the physico-chemistry of hydrocarbon plasmas and the produced nano-objects.
In order to carry out this global project describing these complex media on numerous scales of time and space, theoretical, numerical and experimental approaches will use a wide range of complementary disciplines in order to cover the various aspects inherent to the project: physical and quantum chemistry, molecular dynamics, fluid modeling, advanced plasma diagnostics, material characterization. This highly multidisciplinary project will thus explore the various stages of the “life” of a hydrocarbon plasma since 1) the first reactions in the plasma phase involving the injected molecules and the first by-products, with in particular the electron-collision cross sections 2) the interaction plasma/surfaces limiting the plasma, in order to determine the fluxes of molecules lost by the plasma or injected into it, by calculating the sticking coefficients on the surface, 3) the growth of electrically charged macromolecules and clusters from the molecules present in the plasma taking into consideration the cluster-cluster, cluster-molecule, cluster-surface interactions; this step will emphasize in particular the nanoparticle nucleation phase, 4) the growth (in particular the critical phase of coagulation / agglomeration), the charge (and its fluctuations), the dynamics, the composition (for example the proportion of hydrogen) and the structure (hybridizations) of the nanoparticles in formation and their influence on the plasma properties and stability.
The implications of this project are numerous, both on the purely fundamental aspects involved in these complex plasmas, and on the application aspects. Because of its highly multidisciplinary aspect, the project will lift many scientific barriers in a broad range of scientific fields. The final objective of MONA will be to develop a predictive numerical tool able to optimize the design and use of plasma processes dedicated to the synthesis of nanostructures and carbon films (nanoparticles, nanotubes, nanodiamonds, nanocomposites) whose fields of application are numerous (sensors, electronics, energy, environment, …). A real breakthrough in the range of applications will eventually emerge thanks to the MONA project that will provide both a better knowledge and control of these plasmas, and that will be also able to predict the characteristics of the produced nanomaterials as a function of the process parameters.
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Days since project started