Contact‐Electro‐Catalysis: Mechanistic Insights, Sustainable Materials, and Emerging Applications

ABSTRACT

Contact‐electro‐catalysis (CEC) is an emerging mechanically driven strategy that facilitates chemical reactions through contact electrification and charge transfer at solid–liquid or liquid–liquid interfaces. Since its proposal in 2022, CEC has shown significant potential in environmental remediation, metal recovery, and resource valorization. However, the microscopic mechanisms of interfacial charge transfer, the contributions of different mechanical energy inputs, and the environmental sustainability of catalytic materials remain incompletely understood. This review summarizes the fundamental mechanisms, diverse applications, and recent advances in material design for CEC, focusing on contact electrification and interfacial electron transfer, mechanistic distinctions between CEC and Periodical mechanically driven processes, and design strategies toward sustainable CEC systems. We discuss conventional fluorinated polymers, defect‐engineered and porous materials, MOFs/COFs, and biodegradable and biomass‐derived materials from the dual perspectives of catalytic performance and environmental safety. We emphasize the imperative transition from systems centered solely on high catalytic activity toward those integrating high performance, low environmental burden, and long‐term sustainability. Furthermore, we advocate for a standardized performance evaluation framework to enable quantitative comparisons across different CEC systems. Finally, future research directions are outlined, including mechanistic elucidation, sustainable material development, and scale‐up for practical applications.