Insulator polymers achieve efficient catalysis under visible light due to contact electrification

Under the limitation of the carrier yield and mobility of semiconductor photocatalysts and the reaction domain, it seems that the photocatalytic efficiency cannot be greatly improved. Here, an efficient contact-electro-catalysis (CEC) system based on droplet triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is developed. Instead of using traditional semiconductor catalysts, the electric charge transferred during the electrification process of the contact between water droplets and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is used to participate in catalysis, and the output electrical signal can also monitor the degree of catalysis. The important role of light in the circulation of this CEC system is studied and discussed for the first time. It is proved that the contact electrification at the liquid-solid interface is accompanied by the generation of a large number of strong oxidizing radicals. The efficient transport of charge carriers driven by mechanical force and the active oxygen species distributed in the whole domain greatly improve the degradation rate of dyes. The experimental data show that the degradation efficiency of crystal violet (CV) reaches 90% within 38 s, and the rate constant k is as high as 3.7 min-1. This is a breakthrough in the field of catalysis.