A novel dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactor has been designed and tested for the abatement of diluted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of different nature. The novelty of the DBD reactor is that a metallic catalyst made of sintered metal fibers (SMF) also acts as the inner electrode. The SMF electrodes modified with oxides of Ti, Mn and Co were efficient during the destruction of toluene, isopropanol (IPA) and trichloroethylene (TCE). Total oxidation of IPA was achieved at lower specific input energy (SIE) compared to toluene and TCE. Among the catalysts studied, MnOx/SMF showed the best performance, involving the formation of active oxygen species by in situ decomposition of ozone on the catalyst surface. The selectivity to CO2 as the total oxidation product during TCE destruction was improved up to ∼70% by modifying MnOx/SMF with TiO2. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.