Abstract
Mechanochemistry has been studied for some time, but research on the reactivity of charges exchanged by contact-electrification (CE) during mechanical stimulation remains scarce. Here, we demonstrate that electrons transferred during the CE between pristine dielectric powders and water can be utilized to directly catalyze reactions without the use of conventional catalysts. Specifically, frequent CE at Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) - water interface induces electron-exchanges, thus forming reactive oxygen species for the degradation of an aqueous methyl orange solution. Contact-electro-catalysis, by conjunction of CE, mechanochemistry and catalysis, has been proposed as a general mechanism, which has been demonstrated to be effective for various dielectric materials, such as Teflon, Nylon-6,6 and rubber. This original catalytic principle not only expands the range of catalytic materials, but also enables us to envisage catalytic processes through mechano-induced contact-electrification.
Highlights
Mechanochemistry has been studied for some time, but research on the reactivity of charges exchanged by contact-electrification (CE) during mechanical stimulation remains scarce
Our experiment design is illustrated in Fig. 1a. 20 mg of Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) powder were added to a 50 mL aqueous solution of methyl orange (MO) (5 ppm), and stirred for 48 h to improve the contact between FEP and water
The existence of contact electrification at the water-FEP interface is supported by the electrical output of a single electrode triboelectric nanogenerator (SE-TENG) that is repeatedly immersed in DI water (Fig. 1b)
Summary
Mechanochemistry has been studied for some time, but research on the reactivity of charges exchanged by contact-electrification (CE) during mechanical stimulation remains scarce. Frequent CE at Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) - water interface induces electron-exchanges, forming reactive oxygen species for the degradation of an aqueous methyl orange solution. The mechanism of CEC proposes that frequent contact-separation cycles at the surface of dielectric powder are induced by the growth and collapse of cavitation bubbles during mechano-stimulation,[30] and electrons exchanged during such CE process could be transferred to different substrates to form reactive oxygen species (ROS). These CEC-yielded ROS in an aqueous solution can react with refractory organic compounds in advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). A novel wastewater treatment system has been proposed on the basis of CEC principle due to its merits of scalability and recyclability, and we expect more promising reactive systems involving radical species could be established in the future, opening a new field for catalysis
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