Peeling tape produces strong electric fields via stick-slip friction that drive chemical reactions

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gao, Xufeng; Zhou, Peng; Yuan, Xu; Li, Xiaoxu; Li, Bowen; Xia, Yu; Meng, Yifan; Zare, Richard N.; Zheng, Tingting; Zhang, Xinxing
• 署名单位: Nankai University; East China Normal University; Jianghan University; Stanford University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-8952
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2510504122
• 发表日期: 2025-06-25
• 关键词: electrostatic catalysis; reactivity; carbonyl; bond

摘要

Adhesive interfaces store significant energy due to interlocking molecular chain entanglement and van der Waals forces. When two adhesive surfaces are separated, triboelectric effects induce charge transfer, generating a strong electric field at the peeling interface. This effect offers different opportunities for initiating chemical reactions. Here, we report that the stick-slip friction involved in peeling tape produces electric fields on the order of 109 V/m, as measured by the vibrational Stark shift observed by confocal Raman spectroscopy during tape peeling. This field is sufficiently strong to ionize water and produce the H4O2+ cation, a hydroxyl radical adduct with a hydronium ion. We further demonstrate that this electric field can drive a variety of electron transfer reactions. Our findings suggest that tribocharging presents a promising, energy-efficient avenue for electric-field-driven green chemistry.