Self-powered organic pollutants degradation in wastewater by photocatalytic ozonation based on triboelectric nanogenerator

Abstract

It is of great significance to explore innovative ways to degrade organic pollutants in wastewater. Here, for the first time, we report a self-powered photocatalytic ozonation water purification system for removing organic pollutants in aquatic environment. A rabbit fur-based rotary triboelectric nanogenerator (RR-TENG) is designed as the power supply of water purification system. As a new TENG-based ozone generation method, spark-surface dielectric barrier discharge (Spark-SDBD) is proposed, which is composed of spark discharge device and surface dielectric barrier discharge (SDBD) device in series and can generate ozone to a maximum concentration of 36.4 mg/m3. Rhodamine B and ciprofloxacin, two typical organic compounds, are selected as simulated pollutants in wastewater, and P25 particles loaded on nickel foam are used as the photocatalyst. Ozone is continuously introduced into the polluted solution through an aeration device, coupled with photocatalysis. Within 80 minutes, it can be observed that Rhodamine B has 100% decolorization and ciprofloxacin is degraded to 99%. This work broadens the field of water purification and provides an effective way to create a cleaner and safer aquatic environment.