Strain-Induced Tribocatalytic Activity of 2D ZnO Quantum Dots

The use of low-frequency vibration or high-frequency ultrasound waves to create polarization and an inherent electric field in piezo-tribocatalysts has recently been shown to be a novel advanced oxidation process. In this study, we have demonstrated the synthesis of two-dimensional (2D) ZnO quantum dots (QDs) and their strain-induced tribocatalytic effect, where the triboelectric charges generated under the influence of friction and strain are used to facilitate the decomposition of organic dye molecules. The catalytic performance of 2D QD catalysts can be tuned by modulation of the strain-induced band-gap variation, which are typically regarded as the active sites. The underlying mechanism for the strain-induced catalytic performance is due to the presence of defective dipole moments. Detailed theoretical investigations reveal strain-induced charge-transfer-dependent catalytic properties of the 2D ZnO QD-polymer interface. We believe that the present work provides a fundamental understanding of the design of high-performance catalysis applications for water cleaning and emerging technologies.