Spontaneous ordering of identical materials into a triboelectric series

Abstract When two insulating, neutral materials are contacted and separated, they exchange electrical charge 1 . Experiments have long suggested that this ‘contact electrification’ is transitive, with different materials ordering into ‘triboelectric series’ based on the sign of charge acquired 2 . At the same time, the effect is plagued by unpredictability, preventing consensus on the mechanism and casting doubt on the rhyme and reason that series imply 3 . Here we expose an unanticipated connection between the unpredictability and order in contact electrification: nominally identical materials initially exchange charge randomly and intransitively, but—over repeated experiments—order into triboelectric series.…

• IO
  Institute of Science and Technology Austria
• EC
  European Commission

  Award: 949120
• TU
  Technische Universität Wien
• ER
  European Regional Development Fund

  Award: WST3-F-542638/004-2021