A green approach to induce and steer chemical reactions using inert solid dielectrics

The solid-liquid interface plays pivotal role in chemical reactions, but the contact electrification (CE) at interface is usually overlooked. Recently the CE effect was reported to promote interfacial chemistry as well as catalysis for organic pollutants. However, the exact role of CE in various chemical reactions remained unclear, and understanding of its influences has been a long-lasting challenge. Here, we proposed a paradigm of contact-electro-chemistry (CE-Chemistry) via CE between solid dielectrics and liquids to show how their physical contact can induce and even guide reactions. CE-Chemistry was proved to exist ubiquitously in various reactions within both aqueous and non-aqueous systems, including redox reactions, organic polymerizations, pollutant degradations etc. The trade-off between electron transfer and ion migration at the solid dielectrics and liquids interface was elucidated to optimize reactions. Furthermore, a guidance that unified the concept of work functions, electronegativity in triboelectric series and standard electrode potentials was developed based on the electron transfer capabilities to steer reactions and assess their extent. This work not only reveals the physicochemical essence of CE, but also offers a new perspective to investigate the interface interaction across interdisciplinary subjects of physics, chemistry and material science.