Triboelectricity of Powder of Organic Polymers Based on Electron Transfer Reaction from Mechano Anions to Mechano Radicals

Abstract

We have focused on a triboelectricity as a surface phenomenon. The frictional action between two polymers should induce the scissions of carbon-carbon bond of polymer main chain on the friction surface. On this point of view, a frictional experiment was designed as a mechanical fracture experiment of polymers in a vacuum in the dark at 77 K. The mechanical fracture induced homogeneous and heterogeneous scissions of carbon-carbon bond of polymer main chain, and produced macro-neutral free radicals （called mechano radicals ; R ● ） and macro-anionic species （called mechano anions ; R^－）.
We proposed that a generation mechanism of triboelectrificity between two polymers A and B was based on an electron transfer reaction from the RA－ having low electron release potential （P_re（R_A）） as an electron donor to the R_B ● having high electron affinity （E_a（R_B ● ）） as an electron acceptor on the friction surface, and resulted in polymer A having positive charge and polymer B having negative charge. A sign and amount of charges can be evaluated from a chemical formula of polymer based on our proposed mechanism.