弱力能源开发及其自供能环境净化效应

Weak-force energy development and its self-powered environmental purification

地球生态系统存在广泛且低功率无序的分散能量,包括水流弱力、磁力扰动和生物活动等,尚未得到有效开发利用.常规化石能源通过集中发电再分散利用,是低熵能源的高熵利用,而回收转化利用广泛分散的环境弱力,可以将高熵能量直接高熵利用,是能源生产途径和利用方式的重要变革.环境弱力能源按介质可分为固体振动、液体流动和气体扰动,以机械能为表观形式,可以通过材料转化为电能,并应用于地球生态系统的环境净化,具备能源开发和环境净化双重效应.新材料和新技术研发是弱力能源转化利用的基础,涵盖了微弱能量捕捉、高效力电转换、电能原位利用3个过程,其中压电和摩擦催化发展迅速,具有巨大的应用和发展前景.压电催化材料中,钛酸钡、氧化锌、锆钛酸盐和聚偏氟乙烯复合薄膜等在机械搅拌或振动作用下发生压电催化反应,实现污染物降解、杀菌和清洁等功能.摩擦催化材料中,氧化锌、硫化铬、钴酸镍等半导体和聚四氟乙烯等高分子材料可发生摩擦催化反应,实现环境净化等功能.弱力能源未来发展中,需要将压电和摩擦电催化过程中的电压与电荷量进一步提升,厘定电场、电荷交换界面和反应物共同作用下的电荷交换行为,实现反应环境与催化材料匹配度提升.在“双碳”目标下,实现弱力能源的高效转化利用,在环境治理和医疗健康等方面具有重要的应用价值,是绿色能源发展和宜居地球建设的重要方向.

Energy is the basis for human development and is the driving force of social progress.There is abundant,low-power,and disorderly distributed energy in the Earth’s ecosystem in the form of weak water flow,magnetic disturbance,and biological movement.This distributed energy in nature can be collected and converted into electrical energy,which is crucial for the development of green energy and green Earth.The Earth can use the distributed energy to realize self-purification.Piezocatalysis and tribocatalysis can convert distributed,disordered,and weak forces into electrical energy;the generated electrical energy is used in situ to degrade pollutants.Thus,piezocatalysis and tribocatalysis are good examples of weak-force harvesting and conversion technologies for realizing self-powered environmental purification.In this study,piezocatalysis and tribocatalysis are introduced to reveal how force is converted to electricity and employed to realize degradation;subsequently,their development directions and potential applications in environmental self-purification are discussed.First,weak-force energy is introduced and classified into solid vibration,liquid flow,and airflow disturbances.Solid vibration includes biological movement and mild mechanical vibrations generated by humans,such as through running,vibrations of an electric toothbrush,and motor rotation.Liquid flow refers to the flow of water in rivers,lakes,and seas under relatively quiet conditions.Airflow disturbances include the airflow or noise generated by natural breezes and mechanical movement such as the airflow generated by air-conditioning operations and noise generated by vehicle driving.These forces are characterized as weak,low-frequency,and high-dispersion forces;however,they are ubiquitous and widely distributed,accounting for a considerable amount of total energy.Hence,more attention should be paid to weak forces in the environment to transform and utilize them in green energy generation and functional applications.Second,piezoelectric materials such as barium titanate,zinc oxide,zirconate titanate,and polyvinylidene fluoride composite films can undergo piezocatalysis reactions under mechanical stirring or vibration.Pollutant degradation,sterilization,and even tooth cleaning can be achieved with this action.The weak force driven by piezocatalysis can realize various functional applications in real-life situations.On the other hand,various semiconductor and polymer materials can undergo tribocatalysis reactions to degrade pollutants such as zinc oxide,chromium sulfide,nickel cobaltate,and polytetrafluoroethylene.In tribocatalysis,when two types of materials with different triboelectrifications rub against each other,the friction makes it easier to achieve a high tribocatalysis performance.Currently,tribocatalysis mainly focuses on pollutant degradation.However,with the deepening of research,its application has expanded to green energy and raw material manufacturing.Finally,further development directions of piezocatalysis and tribocatalysis are discussed.The voltage and charge generation capabilities in piezoelectric and triboelectric degradation must be improved.The charge exchange behavior under the combined effects of electric field,charge exchange interfaces and reactants needs to be revealed to further improve the degree of matching between the reaction environment and catalytic materials for effectively purifying the environment.The utilization of piezocatalysis and tribocatalysis in weak-force environments can realize the effective transformation and application of weak force in the environment,which is one of the important directions for green energy development.