Precision measurement of tribocharging in acoustically levitated sub-millimeter grains

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel acoustic levitation method for precisely measuring tribocharging in sub-millimeter dielectric grains, enabling detailed, isolated collision studies of various material pairs.

Contribution

The study presents the first complete electric isolation experimental setup for grain collisions, allowing controlled, repeatable charge transfer measurements between different materials.

Findings

Measured collisional charging rates for polyethylene and polystyrene pairs

Demonstrated noninvasive, controlled collisions of particles with different properties

Enabled detailed studies of tribocharging mechanisms in granular materials

Abstract

Contact electrification of dielectric grains forms the basis for a myriad of physical phenomena. However, even the basic aspects of collisional charging between grains are still unclear. Here we develop a new experimental method, based on acoustic levitation, which allows us to controllably and repeatedly collide two sub-millimeter grains and measure the evolution of their electric charges. This is therefore the first tribocharging experiment to provide complete electric isolation for the grain-grain system from its surroundings. We use this method to measure collisional charging rates between pairs of grains for three different material combinations: polyethylene-polyethylene, polystyrene-polystyrene, and polystyrene-sulfonated polystyrene. The ability to directly and noninvasively collide particles of different constituent materials, chemical functionality, size, and shape opens the door to detailed studies of collisional charging in granular materials.