3D printed triboelectric nanogenerator self-powered electro-Fenton degradation of orange IV and crystal violet system using N-doped biomass carbon catalyst with tunable catalytic activity

Abstract Self-powered electro-Fenton (EF) degradation systems based on triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) technology supply one constructive approach for organic pollution degradation in energy-saving and environmental-friendly manners. Herein, a novel self-powered EF degradation system was built via combining 3D printed flexible multilayered triboelectric nanogenerator (PFM-TENG) with the N-doped porous carbon materials as EF cathode catalysts. The PFM-TENG has a simple multilayered structure but high output characteristics that Voc, Isc, Qtr, Pdensity are 450.0 V, 1.9 mA, 2.9 μC, and 5.1 W m−2, respectively. Besides, the as-prepared cathode carbon materials feature a high surface area of 1790.8 m2 g−1, the total doping content of N, O is up to 20.6 at.%. Driven by PFM-TENG, the EF degradation efficiencies of orange Ⅳ and crystal violet are up to 96.0% and 95.4% in 60 min, respectively. It is noteworthy that there is a positive correlation between the content of –C–O–C functional groups and the degradation efficiency through the analysis of the structure-activity relationship of the carbon materials catalysts. This work realizes the high-efficiency degradation of orange IV and crystal violet through the combination of N-doped carbon catalyst design and 3D printed triboelectric nanogenerator, which not only provides ideas for the preparation of N-doped carbon catalytic materials with controllable catalytic activity, but also proposes an innovative scheme for the layout of the future-oriented EF degradation systems and even the other electrochemical systems via self-powered, digital, mass-produced, distributed, and environmental manners.