Flexoelectricity in hydroxyapatite for the enhanced piezocatalytic degradation of phenanthrene in soil

Abstract

Coupling the effects of flexoelectricity with piezoelectricity has been proved to effectively harvest mechanical energy. In this study, a composition-graded core–shell structure (HAP@FAP) was prepared by surface-gradient F-doping in hydroxyapatite, which could introduce flexoelectricity by a built-in strain gradient. A flexoelectric-boosted piezoelectric response was demonstrated by piezoresponse force microscopy (PFM) characterization, showing that the piezoelectric constant of HAP@FAP was increased by 2.25 times via a lattice strain gradient induced by chemical heterogeneities derived from the unique composition-graded core–shell structure. Thus, the piezocatalytic activity of HAP@FAP for phenanthrene (PHE) degradation in soil was enhanced. This work provides a new strategy for the modification of piezoelectric catalysts for the remediation of organics-contaminated soils on industrial land.

Keywords: Hydroxyapatite; Flexoelectricity; Piezocatalysis; Gradient doping; Soil remediation.