Pencil-on-paper flexible DBD plasma for surface disinfection

Herein, we demonstrate a facile, low-cost approach of using hand-drawn pencil on paper to construct a flexible dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma device. The pencil trace on the paper's surface acts as the high voltage electrodes. The pencil-on-paper (PoP) plasma device could produce atmospheric pressure plasma in ambient conditions and fully operate continuously for more than 30 minutes. The flexible property of the PoP plasma allows the device to be bent without affecting the operation. The PoP plasma shows inhibition properties towards pathogenic bacteria within 120 s of treatment. This study showcases the potential of drawing pencil lead on paper as the basis for an affordable, flexible plasma device.