ELECTRICAL charge separation following contact between two materials (contact electrification or the triboelectric effect) is well known to occur between different materials as a consequence of their different electronic structures1,2. Here we show that the phenomenon occurs between two surfaces of the same material if one is coated with a single chemisorbed monolayer. We use the surface force apparatus3 to study contact electrification4 and adhesion between two silica surfaces, one coated with an amino-silane. The presence of this monolayer results in significantly enhanced adhesion between the surfaces, owing to electrostatic attraction following contact electrification, in accord with Derjaguin's electrostatic theory of adhesion5. At the same time, the observed increase in adhesion is consistent with Fowkes' acid-base model6 (in which acid-base interactions between surface groups are considered to be the predominant factor determining adhesion), as the monolayer converts the originally acidic silica surface to a basic (amine-terminated) one. These observations demonstrate a link between acid-base interactions and contact electrification.
