Contact electrification of polymers: A quantitative model

Abstract

An explicit model of contact-charge exchange in polymers is proposed in which the steady-state exchanged charge resides in intrinsic molecular-ion states. The eigenvalue spectra of these states are inferred from metal/polymer contact-charge measurements using a theoretical formalism constructed for this purpose. This model of metal/polymer contact-charge exchange is extended to encompass the description of polymer/polymer contact-charge exchange as well. Utilizing the metal/polymer contact-charge-exchange spectra as input data, the model predicts correctly both the sign and order of magnitude of measured contact-charge exchange between polystyrene and copolymers of styrene and methyl methacrylate.