Professor Zhang Zuotai's research group of South China University of science and technology has made a series of research results in the field of piezoelectric catalysis

Recently, Professor Zhang Zuotai's research group of environmental science and Engineering College of South University of science and technology has made important research progress in the field of piezoelectric material catalytic energy conversion and environmental governance, and has published two consecutive papers and reports on relevant research results in nano energy, the top international journal in the field of nano energy The polarization field of nano piezoelectric materials can be effectively modulated by the piezoelectric effect of materials and the dispersed micro mechanical energy (water wave, vibration, noise, etc.) in the external environment The resulting surface charge can trigger a series of catalytic reactions (decomposition of water to hydrogen, degradation of organic pollutants, polymer polymerization, etc.) Due to these characteristics, nano piezoelectric materials are expected to obtain important applications in the field of energy conversion and environmental governance in the future At present, the research focus is to find and design nano piezoelectric materials which can convert mechanical energy into chemical energy and to understand the mechanism of piezoelectric catalysis The first paper reports the research work of the research group on the design and synthesis of two-dimensional KNbO 3 piezoelectric materials (DOI: 10.1016/j.nano en 2019.01.095) Experimental and theoretical calculations show that the piezoelectric potential and catalytic activity of the material are higher than those of other materials, and the photocurrent can be effectively controlled by ferroelectric polarization This study provides a guidance scheme for the design of efficient piezoelectric catalytic materials and intelligent optoelectronic devices KNbO 3 two-dimensional sheet material can catalyze the degradation of organic pollutants under the action of ultrasonic mechanical force and regulate photocurrent through ferroelectric polarization (source: nano energy, Doi: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.01.095) in this research work, in order to achieve the goal of regulating the performance of KNbO 3 ferroelectro-optical electrode, the research team finally adopted the method of applying pulse voltage in the electrolyte, successfully polarized the KNbO 3 material photoelectric electrode, and realized the effective regulation of the transport behavior of the photocarriers Yu Dongfang, the visiting student of the research group, is the first author of the paper, and Professor Zhang Zuotai and Research Assistant Professor Li Shun are co correspondents Two dimensional layered transition metal disulfides (TMDs) have attracted much attention due to their unique electronic, mechanical and chemical properties In the second published study, the research team prepared a series of two-dimensional TMDs materials, MoS 2, WS 2 and WSE 2 (DOI: 10.1016 / j.nanoen 2019.104083) It is found that this kind of material can decompose water to produce hydrogen under the action of ultrasonic mechanical force Experimental and theoretical calculations show that the piezoelectric catalytic efficiency is positively related to the piezoelectric coefficient It is confirmed that the catalytic performance is dominated by the piezoelectric property, which provides important evidence for further understanding of the piezoelectric catalytic mechanism In addition, the series of materials can also degrade tetracycline efficiently, providing a new way for the treatment of emerging environmental pollutants Two dimensional TMDs materials decompose water under the action of ultrasonic mechanical force (source: nano energy, Doi: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2019.104083) in order to prepare piezoelectric materials with similar thickness and specific surface area, the research group selected three two-dimensional piezoelectric materials with different piezoelectric coefficients as the research object After repeated exploration of the preparation conditions, appropriate research samples were successfully obtained Li Shun, visiting student Zhao Zhicheng and Yu Dongfang are the co authors of this paper Professor Zhang Zuotai and Research Assistant Professor Zhao Jinzhu of Frontier Cross College are co correspondents The implementation and completion of the series of work were supported by NSFC, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory for soil and groundwater pollution prevention and control and remediation, discipline layout of Shenzhen Science and technology and innovation Commission, special funds of Shenzhen Clean Energy Research Institute and other projects.