In this work, methods based upon nonequilibrium thermodynamics are elucidated to predict stationary states of chemical reactions in nonequilibrium plasma, and limits for energy conversion efficiency. CO₂ splitting is used as an example reaction. Expectations from the theoretical framework are compared to experimental results, and reasonable agreement is obtained. The key conclusion is that the probability of observing either reactants or products increases with the amount of energy dissipated by that side of the reaction as heat through collisions with hot electrons. The side of the reaction that dissipates more energy as heat has a higher probability of occurrence. Furthermore, endergonic chemical reactions in nonequilibrium plasma, such as CO₂ splitting at low temperature, require an intrinsic energy dissipation to satisfy the second law of thermodynamics—a sufficient and necessary waste. This intrinsic dissipation limits the maximum theoretical energy conversion efficiency.

中文翻译：

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非平衡等离子体中的熵产生和化学反应

在这项工作中，阐明了基于非平衡热力学的方法来预测非平衡等离子体中化学反应的稳态以及能量转换效率的限制。CO ₂裂解用作示例反应。将理论框架的预期与实验结果进行比较，并获得合理的一致性。关键结论是，观察到反应物或产物的概率随着反应一侧通过与热电子碰撞而以热量形式耗散的能量而增加。作为热量耗散更多能量的反应一侧发生的概率更高。此外，非平衡等离子体中的吸能化学反应，例如 CO ₂在低温下分裂，需要固有的能量耗散来满足热力学第二定律——这是一种充分且必要的浪费。这种固有耗散限制了最大理论能量转换效率。