Reactive Oxygen Species Generation Driven by Solid-Liquid Interface Friction for Wastewater Decomposition

Solid-liquid triboelectrification provides a direct route for converting interfacial mechanical motion into electrochemical activity, yet its coupling with hydrodynamic regulation at polymer/water interfaces remains insufficiently understood. Here, we report an interface-engineered tribocatalytic tube based on rotational solid-liquid triboelectrification at a fluorinated ethylene propylene (FEP)/water interface for pollutant decomposition without additional micro/nano-catalysts. In this system, a sealed cylindrical reactor lined with FEP is rotated to impose repetitive contact, friction, and separation between the liquid phase and the dielectric surface, thereby enabling interfacial charge separation and reactive oxygen species generation. Under optimized conditions, the system achieves decomposition ratios of 82.1% for rhodamine B (RhB), 50.4% for methylene blue (MB), 17.8% for tetracycline (TC), and 12.5% for methyl orange (MO) within 60 min. A total organic carbon (TOC) removal of 49.7% is obtained for RhB, indicating partial mineralization and the formation of oxidized intermediates. Key experimental parameters, including rotating speed, pH, and tube material, are systematically discussed. Radical quenching, electron paramagnetic resonance, and fluorescence-probe experiments reveal that •O2- and •OH play dominant roles in the decomposition process. This work establishes a material-interface route for converting low-frequency mechanical energy into interfacial redox activity and provides a design concept for mechanical-energy-driven pollutant decomposition.