CONTACT ELECTRIFICATION STUDIES USING ATOMIC-FORCE MICROSCOPE TECHNIQUES

Contact electrification measurements using atomic force microscopy tec hniques were performed using micrometer-sized spheres made of polystyr ene and flat substrates of either freshly cleaved, highly oriented pyr olytic graphite (HOPG) or a 0.2-mu m-thick Au[lll] film grown on mica. The polystyrene/HQPG interaction exhibited significant electrostatic charging when compared to the polystyrene/Au system. This result is co nsistent with qualitative expectations of contact charging based on a triboelectric series of common materials. The observed contact electri fication is also consistent: with electronic charge transfer between m aterials, rather than an ionic dr material transfer mechanism. (C) 199 8 American Institute of Physics.