Triboelectric pulsed direct-current enhanced radical generation for efficient degradation of organic pollutants in wastewater

The generation of free radicals was enhanced by triboelectric pulsed direct-current during the organic pollutant degradation. The self-powered electrochemical system was constructed for enhancing 4-CP removal powered by a water-driven triboelectric nanogenerator (WD-TENG). The output of current, voltage, and power of WD-TENG were studied. The removal of 4-CP and its degradation mechanism were also discussed. The results shows that the formation of hydroxyl radicals (·OH) was improved by improving PMA(Mo 5+ ) conversion efficiency by the WD-TENG in the phosphomolybdic acid/H 2 O 2 (PMA/H 2 O 2 ) system, resulting the mineralizing the 4-CP via dichlorination and oxidation . The removal of 4-CP improved by 10% in 120 min in the WD-TENG powered electro-PMA/H 2 O 2 system. This study provides a promising methodology for improving the performance of self-powered electrochemical processes for the treatment of environmental pollution.