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Water-solid contact electrification and catalysis adjusted by surface functional groups

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Abstract

Chemical functional groups on solid surfaces greatly influence contact electrification (CE) at water-solid interfaces. Previous studies of their effects mainly swapped materials or bonded related molecules to a substrate, introducing other factors of influence. This work aims at unambiguously demonstrating the role of functional groups in water-polymer CE. We study the contribution of functional groups, by using ion coupled plasma etching to modify a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) film, a polymer with a naturally quasi-null charge transfer ability. Fluoride (HDPE−F) and hydroxyl (HDPE−OH) functional groups are generated and endowed HDPE with charge withdrawing ability. HDPE−F withdraws 2.5–2.7 times more charges than HDPE−OH. Concurrently, the surface charges accumulated generate electrostatic forces, altering the droplets motion. This phenomenon provides another approach to study CE, helping to evaluate the contribution of electrons to solid-liquid CE. Finally, employing HDPE−F to perform contact-electro-catalysis shows its activity is 2.4 times higher than that of commercial fluorinated films.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Key R & D Project from Minister of Science and Technology (No. 2021YFA1201601) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52192610), Youth Innovation Promotion Association (W.T.), and CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship (A.B.).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, Beijing Institute of Nanoenergy and Nanosystems, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100083, China

    Yusen Su, Andy Berbille, Zhong Lin Wang & Wei Tang

  2. School of Nanoscience and Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yusen Su, Andy Berbille, Zhong Lin Wang & Wei Tang

  3. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0245, USA

    Zhong Lin Wang

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  1. Yusen Su
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  2. Andy Berbille
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  4. Wei Tang
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Correspondence to Wei Tang.

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Su, Y., Berbille, A., Wang, Z.L. et al. Water-solid contact electrification and catalysis adjusted by surface functional groups. Nano Res. 17, 3344–3351 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6125-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-023-6125-9

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