Is Triboelectricity Confusing, Confused or Complex?

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Olson, Karl P., Marks, Laurence D.
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Olson, Karl P.
Marks, Laurence D.
author_facet Olson, Karl P.
Marks, Laurence D.
contents In this report, we look at the fundamental physics of triboelectricity, charge transfer due to contact and sliding. While much of the report focuses upon recent advances such as the incorporation of flexoelectric contributions, we also include older work, some from centuries ago, which only now can be understood in a general sense. Basic concepts and theories ranging from elements of tribology and contact mechanics through semiconductor built-in potentials, electromechanical terms, mechanochemistry and trap states are briefly described, linking to established surface science and interface physics. We then overview the main models that have been proposed, showing that they all fall within conventional electrostatics combined with other established science. We conclude with some suggestions for the future. Based upon this overview, our conclusion is that triboelectricity is a slightly complex combination of standard electrostatic phenomena that can be understood using the generalized Ampere's law connecting the electric displacement field with both Coulomb and polarization contributions, and the free carrier density, that is Grad.D=rho. Triboelectricity may be confusing, it is not really confused if care is taken, but it is complex.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_01600
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Is Triboelectricity Confusing, Confused or Complex?
Olson, Karl P.
Marks, Laurence D.
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Soft Condensed Matter
In this report, we look at the fundamental physics of triboelectricity, charge transfer due to contact and sliding. While much of the report focuses upon recent advances such as the incorporation of flexoelectric contributions, we also include older work, some from centuries ago, which only now can be understood in a general sense. Basic concepts and theories ranging from elements of tribology and contact mechanics through semiconductor built-in potentials, electromechanical terms, mechanochemistry and trap states are briefly described, linking to established surface science and interface physics. We then overview the main models that have been proposed, showing that they all fall within conventional electrostatics combined with other established science. We conclude with some suggestions for the future. Based upon this overview, our conclusion is that triboelectricity is a slightly complex combination of standard electrostatic phenomena that can be understood using the generalized Ampere's law connecting the electric displacement field with both Coulomb and polarization contributions, and the free carrier density, that is Grad.D=rho. Triboelectricity may be confusing, it is not really confused if care is taken, but it is complex.
title Is Triboelectricity Confusing, Confused or Complex?
topic Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Materials Science
Soft Condensed Matter
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.01600