ABSTRACT
Tribocatalysis was first defined by G. Heinicke in his book of tribochemistry as "the subsection of tribochemistry dealing with the changes of catalytic properties of solids due to the effect of mechanical energy". Tribocatalysis: Change in the rate of a chemical reaction or its initiation under the action of friction in the presence of a substance—the tribocatalyst—that receives frictional force and is involved in the chemical transformation of the reaction partners. The central subject in tribocatalysis is how frictional energy is injected to the adsorbents and adsorbates for adsorption and surface reaction, and to the products for desorption. The tribological system contains fluid reagents and a solid which is the border of the system. The material plays the role of catalyst. The mechanical work done on the system is transformed to internal energy increase. Thermodynamics is used in chemistry to describe the transition from an equilibrium state to another one, to determine both the heat and spontaneity of reactions.
