Methods and apparatus for producing chemical nanostructures having multiple elements, such as boron and nitride, e.g. boron nitride nanotubes, are disclosed. The method comprises creating a plasma jet, or plume, such as by an arc discharge. The plasma plume is elongated and has a temperature gradient along its length. It extends along its length into a port connector area having ports for introduction of feed materials. The feed materials include the multiple elements, which are introduced separately as fluids or powders at multiple ports along the length of the plasma plume, said ports entering the plasma plume at different temperatures. The method further comprises modifying a temperature at a distal portion of or immediately downstream of said plasma plume; and collecting said chemical nanostructures after said modifying.

A thermal and non-thermal plasma activated water reactor system is provided that includes a reaction chamber, where the reaction chamber includes a gas inlet, a water inlet, a gas and water outlet, a ground electrode and reaction electrodes, where the water inlet and the water outlet are disposed to form a water vortex in the reaction chamber when water flows there through, where the reaction electrodes include a thermal plasma electrode and a non-thermal plasma electrode, and a plasma activated water reservoir that is disposed to receive the plasma activated water from the reaction chamber and disposed to return the plasma activated water to the reaction chamber.

A method and apparatus for making carbon black. A plasma gas is flowed into a plasma forming region containing at least one, magnetically isolated, plasma torch containing at least one electrode, and forming a plasma. Collecting the plasma formed in a cooled header and flowing the plasma through at least one reaction region to heat the reaction region, and injecting carbon black forming feedstock into the reaction region, resulting in the formation of at least one grade of carbon black. An apparatus for making carbon black is also described including a plasma forming section containing at least one, magnetically isolated plasma torch containing at least one electrode, in fluid flow communication with at least one carbon black forming reactor section, the plasma section and reactor section separated by a plasma formed collection header.

Described herein are processes and apparatus for the large-scale synthesis of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) by induction-coupled plasma (ICP). A boron-containing feedstock may be heated by ICP in the presence of nitrogen gas at an elevated pressure, to form vaporized boron. The vaporized boron may be cooled to form boron droplets, such as nanodroplets. Cooling may take place using a condenser, for example. BNNTs may then form downstream and can be harvested.

A plasma reactor for enriching water with nitrogen compounds. The plasma reactor includes a water container (8); a plasma head (3) connected with a microwave generator (1) by a waveguide (2); a quartz tube (5) having a first end situated within the plasma head (3) and a second end that protrudes into the water container (8); a gas circulator (9) configured to introduce gas into the first end of the quartz tube (5) so that the introduced gas comes out through the second end of the quartz tube (5); a discharge generating rod (4) configured to be inserted into the plasma head (3) within the quartz tube (5) to generate a discharge in the quartz tube (5) and to be moved out of the head (3) after the discharge has been generated.

The present invention relates to a process, reactor and system to produce self-standing two-dimensional nanostructures, using a microwave-excited plasma environment. The process is based on injecting, into a reactor, a mixture of gases and precursors in stream regime. The stream is subjected to a surface wave electric field, excited by the use of microwave power which is introduced into a field applicator, generating high energy density plasmas, that break the precursors into its atomic and/or molecular constituents. The system comprises a plasma reactor with a surface wave launching zone, a transient zone with a progressively increasing cross-sectional area, and a nucleation zone. The plasma reactor together with an infrared radiation source provides a controlled adjustment of the spatial gradients, of the temperature and the gas stream velocity.

A method of cooling a liner in a plasma chamber. A recycle gas is contacted with or passed through the liner to cool the liner and pre-heat the recycle gas. The pre-heated gas is then recycled through the plasma chamber to become part of the plasma forming process. The method further comprises the liner is graphite, the recycle gas passes through at least one cooling channel present in the liner, at least one of the cooling channels are covered with at least one removable liner/channel cover, carbon deposits are formed from the presence of hydrocarbons in the recycle gas, at least one channel is formed in a spiral cooling channel pattern, at least one channel is formed in a substantially straight cooling channel pattern, and a plenum to aid in the production of an even distribution of cooling gas in the channels.

Methods and apparatus for producing chemical nanostructures having multiple elements, such as boron and nitride, e.g. boron nitride nanotubes, are disclosed. The method comprises creating a plasma jet, or plume, such as by an arc discharge. The plasma plume is elongated and has a temperature gradient along its length. It extends along its length into a port connector area having ports for introduction of feed materials. The feed materials include the multiple elements, which are introduced separately as fluids or powders at multiple ports along the length of the plasma plume, said ports entering the plasma plume at different temperatures. The method further comprises modifying a temperature at a distal portion of or immediately downstream of said plasma plume; and collecting said chemical nanostructures after said modifying.

The present application relates to methods and apparatus for delivering liquid or solid feedstocks into a plasma treatment vessel. More specifically, the invention provides a method for treating a sample using glow discharge plasma in an apparatus comprising a treatment vessel, the method comprising (i) delivering a gaseous plasma forming feedstock into the treatment vessel through a gas supply line under the control of a gas flow controller, and causing formation of a glow discharge plasma in the treatment vessel from the gaseous plasma forming feedstock; and simultaneously (ii) delivering a reagent into the treatment vessel under the control of a reagent dosing controller, wherein the reagent is a liquid or a solid; and (iii) contacting the sample with the glow discharge plasma and the reagent; wherein the gas flow controller and the reagent dosing controller allow independent control of the rate of delivery of the gaseous plasma forming feedstock and the reagent.

The present invention is drawn to the generation of micropatterns of biomolecules and cells on standard laboratory materials through selective ablation of a physisorbed biomolecule with oxygen plasma. In certain embodiments, oxygen plasma is able to ablate selectively physisorbed layers of biomolecules (e.g., type-I collagen, fibronectin, laminin, and Matrigel) along complex non-linear paths which are difficult or impossible to pattern using alternative methods. In addition, certain embodiments of the present invention relate to the micropatterning of multiple cell types on curved surfaces, multiwell plates, and flat bottom flasks. The invention also features kits for use with the subject methods.