Electrostatic charging is important in explosion hazard industry, electronics, xerography and many other areas. Although exact mechanisms of contact electrification are still under debate, with some reasonably well-understood contact electrification mechanisms researchers have been able to rationally design electrets capable to control contact electrification. We report photochemical control over surface electrification of spiropyran containing polymer coated surfaces prepared via spin coating or surface initiated polymerization--the sign of net electrostatic charge of the coated surface upon rubbing against stainless steel can be reversibly switched between "+" and "-" by UV or visible light irradiation. We photochemically patterned such functionalized surface electrostatically by irradiating the surface with a photomask, and used these electrostatical patterns to direct assembly of charged objects such as pigments on to the surface. In addition, the capability to reversibly tune the net surface charge of coated objects allows for directing the movement of these objects (such as coated glass beads, d = 2 mm) in an electrical field by using different wavelengths of light.

Reversible photochemical control over contact electrification of polymer coatings

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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