Review on the interactions between atmospheric pressure plasmas and complex surfaces

Abstract Atmospheric pressure plasmas (CAPs) have been extensively studied over the past three decades, and remaining vibrant in both the fundamental researches and practical applications. The interactions between the plasmas and the treating surfaces are critical to understand not only the physics-chemistry processes in plasma treating surfaces, but also the influence of the surfaces on the plasmas’ dynamics. Especially, plasmas interacting with complex surfaces grew into an emerging field since in reality the treated surface were generally non-planar or inhomogeneous. In this topical review, we summarized the recent advances in plasma interacting with surfaces those appear as non-planar or porous morphology, or with multiple compositions, or the interface in a multiphase system. The breakdown theory and discharge mechanisms on the complex surfaces were reviewed for the fundamental understanding on the interaction. And on this base, some key aspects on the interaction, including the reactive species, electric field distribution, surface processes and plasma-induced chemistry, were discussed from the application-orientated perspective.