Plasmas are being utilized in numerous fields of applied science and engineering including aerospace, advanced material manufacturing, bioengineering, etc. This presentation will explore two relatively novel subfields of the area of applied plasma physics, namely small non-equilibrium atmospheric plasmas for treatment of biological systems and utilization of plasmas for synthesis of 2D nanomaterials.

The first part of the seminar will cover research conducted by our group at the George Washington University (GWU) in the field of small non-equilibrium atmospheric plasmas for biological applications. We will focus on physics of small non-equilibrium atmospheric plasma jets (NEAPJ) and experimental diagnostic approaches. We will analyze breakdown conditions, process of ionization front propagation, electrical coupling of the streamer tip with the discharge electrodes, distributions of excited and ionized species, discharge current spreading, transient dynamics of various plasma parameters in NEAPJ etc. Along with analyzing the NEAPJ physics we will consider set of unique diagnostic facilities developed in our group at GWU including Rayleigh Microwave Scattering facility, setup for measurements of electric potential of the streamer tip, fast ICCD photographing, optical emission spectroscopy etc. In the end of this part of the seminar we will outline potential of the NEAPJs for biological applications by demonstrating results of in-vitro cellular and in-vivo animal studies and discuss the link between the specific biological responses and the plasma properties of the NEAPJs. We will also highlight current challenges in the field and formulate plans for the future research.

The second part of the seminar will review the research conducted by our group on synthesis and applications of 2D nanomaterials produced in the arc plasma-based process with particular focus on graphene. A wide spectrum of potential applications of 2D materials for aerospace industry including areas of energy storage, thermal management, nanocomposites, etc. will be discussed. We will consider conventional methods and mechanisms involved in graphene synthesis and discuss how these approaches can be utilized in the arc-based process. We will highlight utilization of the materials synthesized in the arc-based process to manufacture ultracapacitor and will evaluate its performance. We will also discuss strategies to achieve application-specific gas phase functionalization in-situ during the synthesis. The final part of the seminar will outline the potential of the arc-based synthesis for production of other 2D materials including BN, MoS2, etc., and analyze the overall benefits of the arc-based approach compared to competitive synthesis techniques.

Bio

Dr. Alexey Shashurin is a research scientist in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering of the George Washington University. He received M.Sc. in Physics from Nizhny Novgorod State University, Russia, in 1998 and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Tel Aviv University in 2008. His research focuses on the advanced applications of low-temperature plasmas in various fields including synthesis of nanomaterials, advanced spacecraft propulsion and bioengineering. Dr. Shashurin has published over 50 refereed scientific articles and filed 3 US patent applications. Dr. Shashurin is a Senior Member of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) societies, and the recipient of Welch International Award for 2008.