Editorial for a Special Issue on Plasma Technology and Its Applications

Plasma technology is commonly used in numerous fields, such as microelectronics, nanomaterial synthesis, nitrogen fixation, biomedicine, environmental protection, and polymer surface modification. The development of plasma sources, the physical and chemical control of plasma, experimental and numerical diagnostics of plasma, and the latest applications of plasma are garnering increasing interest from the research community.

This Special Issue aims to collect and showcase breakthrough research on discharge plasma technology, including discharge theory, plasma diagnostics, plasma biomedicine, plasma nitrogen fixation, and plasma material processing.

A total of 15 research papers are published in this Special Issue, covering various aspects of plasma technology, including disinfection, agriculture, CO₂ conversion, dusty plasma, and plasma diagnostics. Samuel Jaro Kaufmann et al. studied the techno-economic potential of plasma-based CO₂ splitting in power-to-liquid plants [1]. Ao Xiao et al. developed plasma-activated tap water and used it in atomization disinfection [2]. Joanna Izdebska-Podsiadły et al. studied the aging of polylactide films exposed to plasma through hydrophobic recovery and selected application properties [3]. Evan Russell et al. analyzed ions accelerated at a high repetition rate from laser-induced plasma [4]. Yuanfu Zang et al. simulated interactions between plasma and azithromycin based on molecular dynamics [5]. Nigala Aikeremu et al. adsorbed SARS-CoV-2 spike 1 protein using plasma-modified porous polymers [6]. Tim Donders et al. measured dust particle size and dust density in low-pressure radio-frequency-driven nanodusty plasma using time-synchronized microwave cavity resonance spectroscopy and laser light extinction measurements [7]. Xucheng Wang et al. studied the influence of gap width on temporal nonlinear behaviors in CO₂ DBD under Martian conditions [8]. Tao Huang et al. designed a compact divertor heat load simulation device [9]. Abeer A. Mahmoud studied fully nonlinear small amplitude dynamical waves for multicomponent complex plasma with Kappa distributed electrons and ions [10]. Shuqi Li generated high-density pulsed gas–liquid discharge plasma using a floating electrode configuration at atmospheric pressure [11]. Hannah Hamada Mendonça Lens et al. studied low-dose oxidant toxicity and oxidative stress in human papillary thyroid carcinoma cells K1 [12]. Qianhan Han enhanced the radio frequency plasma plume using a pulsed plasma bullet at atmospheric pressure [13]. Andrey Izmailov et al. improved winter graft techniques using cold plasma and a plasma-treated solution on cherry cultures [14]. Huixue Yang et al. detected trace heavy metal Cu in water using atomic emission spectrometry of the nebulized discharge plasma at atmospheric pressure [15].

Although submissions for this Special Issue have concluded, deeper research in the field of plasma applications continues to address the challenges we face today, such as climate change, water scarcity, and the energy crisis.