Triboelectric Nanogenerator as a Probe for Studying Liquid Charge Transfer

Understanding the charge distribution at liquid-solid interface is of great significance in chemistry, especially in electrochemistry and catalysis, in which most chemical reactions occur at the liquid-solid interface. However, research on liquid-solid contact electron transfer has been slow owing to the lack of appropriate methods. Recently, Wang proposed that triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) can be used as a probe for standing liquid charge transfer. By designing microelectrode arrays, the charge transfer distribution at the liquid-solid interface can be further obtained. Presently, the TENG probe method has been successfully demonstrated to measure charge transfer at both liquid-solid and solid-solid interfaces. Here, a preliminary summary of the work related to TENG probe technology is provided.