Triboelectric Pulse Promotes Self-Cleaning, Catalysis of Nano-Confined Domain Lamellar Membranes for Effective Water Decontamination

Abstract

Triboelectric nanogenerators are promising green electrocatalytic alternative energy sources; however, their low current density renders practical applications challenging. Herein, a self-generating electricity mode based on a droplet friction strategy that significantly mitigates membrane fouling while facilitating the contact of oxidizing substances and sulfamethoxazole within the nanoconfined spaces of 2D conductive catalytic membranes is proposed, which are elaborately designed via the co-assembly of CoFeMoOOH and MXene laminates. In the confined domain space of the membrane, triboelectric pulses resulted in a 267% (1800 to 4800 min⁻¹) enhancement of the degradation rate constant of sulfamethoxazole, which is significantly higher than the 17% (0.35 to 0.41 min⁻¹) for the suspension system. In situ filtration and kinetic modeling revealed that the pulsed electrical signal generated by the permeate promoted molecular polarization and longitudinal mass transfer within the confined domain space. The alteration in the adsorption-desorption behavior of solvent/solute molecules between the confined domain layers leads to the migration of water molecules and pollutants in opposite directions, facilitating positive catalytic reactions and fouling inhibition. The proposed self-generating pulsed electricity-assisted nanoconfined catalysis offers a powerful tool for efficiently harnessing environmental micro-energy for the green upgrading of water treatment processes.