Synthesis of CuCl2/PTFE with high piezoelectric effects for efficient degradation of antibiotics: Radical mechanism investigation

Piezoelectric catalysis has emerged as a highly effective strategy for the removal of organic pollutants from wastewater. Although the piezoelectric properties of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) are well-established, the development of efficient charge transfer channels on PTFE to enhance its piezoelectric catalytic activity remains a significant challenge. In this study, we synthesized a CuCl₂/PTFE piezoelectric catalyst via ball milling. The optimized CuCl₂/PTFE degradation rate of tetracycline was 92.1 %, and the kinetic constant was 0.62 min⁻¹. The CuCl₂/PTFE catalyst with a kinetic constant 4.97 times higher than PTFE. Combined with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we propose a plausible piezoelectric catalytic degradation mechanism. The doping of CuCl₂ reduces the band structure of PTFE and promotes the separation of e⁻ and h⁺, further producing ∙O₂⁻, ¹O₂ and ∙OH to participate in the degradation of antibiotics. This work provides valuable theoretical insights for the application of piezoelectric catalysis in environmental remediation and clean energy production.