Friction-induced electrochemical activation of platinum group metals via electromechanical coupling
Platinum group metals (PGMs), long considered chemically inert, exhibit unexpected reactivity at the metal-water interface when subjected to simultaneous friction and electric fields. This tribo-electrochemical coupling unveils a reaction regime fundamentally different from conventional electrochemical or mechanical activation. Here, we demonstrate that friction, coupled with a positive surface potential, drives the rapid formation of submicron oxide layers on platinum surfaces. We propose that friction lowers activation energy barriers and enhances mass transport, thereby accelerating anodic oxidation through a stress-augmented thermally activated mechanism. The resulting nanostructured oxides apparently exhibit higher electrocatalytic activity than that of metallic platinum, offering promising potential for microscale sensors and catalytic microreactors. Notably, this localized oxidation also occurs in other PGMs, indicating a broadly applicable strategy for activating inert metals via electromechanical coupling.
Authors
- James P. Ewen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5110-6970)
- Zhaoran Zhu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7749-9995)
- Wengen Ouyang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8700-1978)
- Daniele Dini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5518-499X)
- Chenxu Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9057-3755)
- Jie Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7572-7077)
- Yonggang Meng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8274-5131)
- Zhijun Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1616-0477)
- Hongbo Zeng
- Yu Tian
- Ming Ma
- Xingxing Chen
- Haoran Pan
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology Liaoning (CN)
- University of Alberta (CA)
- Wuhan University (CN)
- Imperial College London (GB)
- Tsinghua University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Materials Today
- Published
- 2026-04-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mattod.2026.103323
- Primary Topic
- Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Canada Research Chairs
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- China Postdoctoral Science Foundation
- Instituto de Sistemas Complejos de Ingeniería
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
- Department of Aeronautics, Imperial College London