Piezoelectric–Triboelectric Electrospun Nanofiber Mats for Heavy-Metal Capture and Recovery

PROBLEM:
Electrospun nanofiber mats expose a large biosorbent surface in a flow-through form, but fibres can compact, channel, or shed under flow, and loading is uneven across the mat. A mat that captures well at its inlet face may be nearly unused deeper inside, so total metal recovered is a poor guide to remaining capacity. Operators need a spatially aware model that connects fibre structure, binding-site distribution, and flow-induced charge signals.

SOLUTION:
IBM Cloud Ideas would provide a capability for modelling electrospun capture mats in which DFT-predicted binding for the embedded biosorbent is combined with fibre-mat geometry and piezoelectric/triboelectric charge data from flow and contact. The capability would map predicted loading across the mat, require regeneration and reuse accounting per mat, and keep the energy budget for spinning, drying, and regeneration visible. It supports mat design and reuse decisions without claiming a recovery outcome.

EVIDENCE BASIS:
Piezoelectric/triboelectric coupling is DOCUMENTED: mechanical strain or contact generates charge and is used in nanogenerators. Electrospun nanofiber scaffolds are textbook high-surface-area fibre mats. DFT is based on Hohenberg–Kohn 1964 and Kohn–Sham 1965, Nobel Prize 1998. Biosorption binding follows R−COOH + M2+ ⇌ R−COOM+ + H+ and is validated by batch isotherms, qe = (C0 − Ce)V/m, Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, textbook DOCUMENTED. Source: textbook DFT, electrospinning, and biosorption isotherm literature as summarised in the batch method.