Temperature-Dependent Species Dynamics in CH ₄ /O ₂ /Ar Capacitive Coupled Plasma

Methane (CH 4 ) conversion into value-added products is important for petrochemical, hydrogen energy, semiconductor, and environmental applications. Plasma-assisted conversion is considered an environmentally friendly technology; however, efficient reactor development requires advanced numerical modelling and optimization. This study presents a two-dimensional fluid simulation of CH 4 /O 2 /Ar (80:15:5) capacitive coupled plasma (CCP) to investigate radial and axial density distributions of H 2 , H 2 + , CO, H, H + , electron temperature and electrons number density over 300–700 K gas temperature with a step of 100K. The self-consistent model incorporates continuity, energy conservation, momentum balance, and Poisson equations. Simulations were performed in a parallel-plate CCP reactor operating at 0.1 Torr and 13.56 MHz RF excitation. Results demonstrated strong temperature effects on hydrogen and CO formation as well as on electron temperature and number density.