Dissipation of Triboelectric Charge into Air from Textile Surfaces

Triboelectric charges on textile fabrics are thought to dissipate mainly by conduction by means of free electron diffusion. Charges on the surface of fabrics disappear by other processes, however, such as neutralization with counter ions and scattering into the air. In this study, water molecules on the textile surface play an important role in the charge scattering into air, i.e., electric charge carried away by water molecules when they evaporate. Two kinds of water molecules exist on the textile surface—one not related to charge dissipation and one carrying the electronic charge away from the fabric surface.