Self-powered real-time monitoring of electrochemical pollutantdegradation using a spiral-tube triboelectric nanogenerator
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Real-time monitoring of electrochemical pollutant degradation is essential for intelligent water treatment but remains challenging in power-limited or remote scenarios. Here, we develop a fully self-powered sensing platform based on a vertical contact–separation triboelectric nanogenerator (CP-TENG) incorporating a spiral PTFE microtube and copper electrodes. The
device harvests fluid-induced mechanical energy while simultaneously transducing variations in liquid conductivity, flow rate, and pollutant composition into distinct electrical signatures. The output signals exhibit strong quantitative correlations with the degradation kinetics of ammonia nitrogen and Reactive Blue 19, enabling continuous tracking of both inorganic and organic pollutants without external power or optical instrumentation. The CP-TENG further demonstrates high sensitivity in distinguishing conductive and non-conductive liquids and maintains excellent operational stability over prolonged cycling. This work establishes TENG-based architectures as dual functional platforms for sustainable energy harvesting and intelligent
environmental sensing, offering a promising route toward autonomous wastewater treatment and next-generation smart monitoring infrastructures.
device harvests fluid-induced mechanical energy while simultaneously transducing variations in liquid conductivity, flow rate, and pollutant composition into distinct electrical signatures. The output signals exhibit strong quantitative correlations with the degradation kinetics of ammonia nitrogen and Reactive Blue 19, enabling continuous tracking of both inorganic and organic pollutants without external power or optical instrumentation. The CP-TENG further demonstrates high sensitivity in distinguishing conductive and non-conductive liquids and maintains excellent operational stability over prolonged cycling. This work establishes TENG-based architectures as dual functional platforms for sustainable energy harvesting and intelligent
environmental sensing, offering a promising route toward autonomous wastewater treatment and next-generation smart monitoring infrastructures.
Date Issued
2026-06-01
Date Acceptance
2026-02-08
Citation
Sustainable Chemistry for Climate Action, 2026, 8 (1)
ISSN
2772-8269
Publisher
Elsevier
Journal / Book Title
Sustainable Chemistry for Climate Action
Volume
8
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ).
License URL
Identifier
10.1016/j.scca.2026.100187
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
100187
Date Publish Online
2026-02-09