Strong tribocatalytic dye degradation by tungsten bronze Ba₄Nd₂Fe₂Nb₈O₃₀

The triboelectric effect has recently demonstrated its great potential in environmental remediation and even new energy applications for triggering a number of catalytic reactions by utilizing trivial mechanical energy. In this study, Ba Nd Fe Nb O (BNFN) submicron powders were used to degrade organic dyes via the tribocatalytic effect. Under the frictional excitation of three PTFE stirring rods in a 5 mg/L RhB dye solution, BNFN demonstrates a high tribocatalytic degradation efficiency of 97% in 2 h. Hydroxyl radicals (•OH) and superoxide radicals (•O －) were also detected during the catalysis process, which proves that triboelectric energy stimulates BNFN to generate electron-hole pairs. The tribocatalysis of tungsten bronze BNFN submicron powders provides a novel and efficient method for the degradation of wastewater dye by utilizing trivial mechanical energy. 4 2 2 8 30 2