Piezoelectric-Fenton degradation and mechanism study of Fe2O3/PVDF-HFP porous film drove by flowing water

Piezocatalysis driven by a gentle force possesses broad application prospects for degrading organic pollutants, sterilisation, wound healing and tissue recovery. The flexible and industrially scalable poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) film is commonly used in piezocatalysis. However, under gentle force action, PVDF composite-based piezocatalysis is poor. Herein, a flexible porous film based on poly(vinylidene fluoride)-hexafluoro propylene (PVDF-HFP) is enhanced with Fenton fillers (α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles). α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles improve the piezoelectric catalysis performance of PVDF-HFP by the β-phase enhancement and provide Fe3+ to react with H2O2 generated by the piezoelectric film itself, leading to an additional Fenton reaction. Meanwhile, the Fe3+/Fe2+ cycle in the Fenton process accelerates under the piezoelectric field, promoting the Fenton reaction for 6.9% degradation improvement. The study on Fe2O3/PVDF-HFP porous film with the piezo–Fenton reaction under flowing water may help promote new piezocatalysis designs with high efficiency for self–powered environmental purification. [Display omitted] •A flexible self-polarization film with Piezo-Fenton catalysis is proposed and analyzed.•Piezo-Fenton catalysis is driven by gentle force.•The catalytic degradation effect is enhanced by the Piezo-Fenton catalytic reaction.•Exploring the mechanism of piezocatalytic reaction by electrochemical test.