Correlation between stick-slip frictional sliding and charge transfer
arXiv:1007.3797 · doi:10.1103/PhysRevB.82.075414
Abstract
A decade ago, Budakian and Putterman (Phys. Rev. Lett., {\bf 85}, 1000 (2000)) ascribed friction to the formation of bonds arising from contact charging when a gold tip of a surface force apparatus was dragged on polymethylmethacrylate surface. We propose a stick-slip model that captures the observed correlation between stick-slip events and charge transfer, and the lack of dependence of the scale factor connecting the force jumps and charge transfer on normal load. Here, stick-slip dynamics arises as a competition between the visco-elastic and plastic deformation time scales and that due to the pull speed with contact charging playing a minor role. Our model provides an alternate basis for explaining most experimental results without ascribing friction to contact charging.
8 pages, 4 figures, To be appeared in Physical Review B