The chemical industry is the largest industrial energy consumer globally and the third-highest CO2-emitting industry[1]. Thus, developing ‘greener’ (low-energy/low-carbon) approaches to chemical production processes such as ammonia and methanol, is a key pillar for a future decarbonized environment.
As a pathway to achieving these objectives, this research aims to harness waste ambient vibrations, such as those generated by effluent gases from factories, machinery vibrations, and vibrations from reaction chambers, to drive electrochemical reactions, via a new static charge-mediated redox reaction catalysis technique called “Contact electrocatalysis”[2].
To achieve this, catalyst embedded porous membranes were fabricated using layer-by-layer assembly of electrospun nanofibers[3]. These structures can generate multiple interfaces with static charges upon vibration (from sound or air flow), forming localized, high-intensity electric fields. In the presence of catalysts, these high-intensity electric fields could alter the catalyst's electronic structure and participate in electrochemical reactions via contact electrocatalysis.
Studies that were conducted to enhance the charge generation of triboelectric laminates showed that there is a correlation between the relative fibre orientation and the charge separation [4]. Transforming this finding into the layer-by-layer catalyst embedded assembly increased charge generation by 100% compared to non–aligned triboelectric laminates. This improved current relates to the available charge to drive electrochemical reactions. After confirming charge generation in the triboelectric laminates, a copper catalyst was embedded in them, with the aim of using the generated charges to drive the electrochemical reduction of CO2.