Effect of contact deformation on contact electrification: a first-principles calculation

The effect of contact deformation on contact electrification of metallic materials was studied by the first-principles method. The results of charge population and the densities of states of the deformed contact models demonstrated that the magnitude of the transferred charge increased with deformation. The mechanism of the effect of deformation was investigated by studying the electronic properties of the deformed surface slabs. The results showed that crystal deformation led to a change in the electrostatic potential of the metal, where the number of nearly free electrons and unoccupied orbitals for charge transfer increased, and their energy barrier decreased.