Improved Degradation Efficiency of Levofloxacin by a Self-Powered Electrochemical System with Pulsed Direct-Current

Abstract

With the excellent structural design, rotary triboelectric nanogenerator (R-TENG) is suitable for harvesting mechanical energy such as wind energy and water energy to build a self-powered electrochemical system for environmental science. The electrochemical performance has been greatly improved by using the pulsed direct-current (PDC) output of a TENG; however, a full-wave PDC (FW-PDC) is hardly realized in R-TENG devices due to existence of phase superposition. Here, a R-TENG with FW-PDC output is reported to perform a self-powered electro-Fenton system for enhancing the removal efficiency of levofloxacin (OFL). By adjusting the rotation center angle ratio between each rotator and stator unit, the phase superposition of R-TENG caused by multiple parallel electrodes can be effectively eliminated, thus achieving the desired FW-PDC output. Because of the reduced electrode passivation effect, the removal efficiency of OFL is improved by 30% under equal electric charges through using the designed R-TENG with FW-PDC output compared to traditional R-TENG. This study provides a promising methodology to improve the performance of self-powered electrochemical process for treating environment pollutions.

Low-Cost, Environmentally Friendly, and High-Performance Triboelectric Nanogenerator Based on a Common Waste Material

“…On the other hand, to meet the growing demands of electronic devices for mobile and distributed energy, a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) was proposed by Wang’s group in 2012 to convert diverse mechanical energy in the environment into electrical energy based on the coupling of the triboelectrification effect and the electrostatic induction effect, which usually consists of a dielectric layer, a back electrode, and a counter electrode. − Taking advantage of its simple structure, lightweight, easy integration, and wide selection of materials, the TENG has a broad application prospect in multiple fields and has attracted intensive attention. − In particular, the merit of the wide selection of materials provides great possibilities for waste materials to be used in the preparation of the TENG. The transformation of waste into an energy harvester can not only reduce environmental pollution and electricity consumed by conventional waste disposal but also generate renewable electricity to relieve the pressure on energy demand.…”

Improving Wastewater Treatment by Triboelectric-Photo/Electric Coupling Effect

“…The self-powered electro-Fenton degradation reached a bromocresol green decolorization rate of 96% within 105 min . Liu et al proposed a rotary TENG that could reach the desired full-wave pulsed direct-current output by changing the rotation center angle ratio between each rotator and stator unit …”

A Self‐Powered and Efficient Triboelectric Dehydrator for Separating Water‐in‐Oil Emulsions with Ultrahigh Moisture Content

“…[ 17–23 ] Relying on the electrostatic induction effect, TENGs can generate an extremely high electric field, and their open‐circuit voltage ( V OC ) can easily reach a few thousand volts. [ 24 ] This makes the TENG a high‐voltage power supply driven by environmental energy for water disinfection, [ 25 ] sterilization, [ 26 ] microplasma generation, [ 27 ] soft robots, [ 28,29 ] microfluidics, [ 30,31 ] cell printing technology, [ 32 ] and electrostatic spinning. [ 33 ] In particular, Lei et al.…”

“…[17][18][19][20][21][22][23] Relying on the electrostatic induction effect, TENGs can generate an extremely high electric field, and their open-circuit voltage (V OC ) can easily reach a few thousand volts. [24] This makes the TENG a high-voltage power supply driven by environmental energy for water disinfection, [25] sterilization, [26] microplasma generation, [27] soft robots, [28,29] microfluidics, [30,31] cell printing technology, [32] and electrostatic spinning. [33] In particular, Lei et al [34] developed a TENG with a charge-accumulation strategy to provide a sustained ultrahigh output voltage of 20 kV, which was used to trigger continuous electrophoresis and dielectrophoresis in the oil, resulting in a self-powered oil purification system.…”