Influence of "Seebeck effect" on charge transfer between two friction surfaces

Abstract

Tribocharging is utilized in a large number of applications and is meanwhile hazardous. Controlling of the charging and the following discharging during the friction contacts is urgently needed. Here, the triboluminescence has first been investigated and we found that the position reversal of the friction pairs has a dramatic impact on the triboluminescence. Such a position dependence was then explained by the combined effect of the contact potential difference and the temperature difference between the contacting surfaces on the charge transfer during the friction process. This work may provide a new perspective for understanding the tribocharging process and may propose a simple yet effective approach to modulate the intensities of tribocharging and tribodischarging.