Current state and perspectives of plasma applications for catalyst regeneration

Plasma catalysis has been extensively investigated on both plasma and catalyst sides to explore the possible synergies, with most studies focusing on reactivity enhancement and the search for pathways other than those of simple plasma or catalytic reactions. However, there is currently much room for plasma applications beyond reactivity control in catalyst preparation and regeneration phases. This review introduces the use of plasma for accelerated catalyst regeneration and proposes a corresponding mechanistic explanation, showing that the effectiveness of this regeneration can be ascribed to the chemical and/or thermal effects of plasma such as the formation of reactive reductants/oxidants and cost-effective catalyst heat-up. Moreover, plasma-assisted catalyst regeneration is shown to involve low-temperature activation and gas-phase radical-based reactions, be a viable method of avoiding catalyst sintering during conventional high-temperature regeneration, and exhibit the advantage of cost effectiveness.