ABSTRACT
We report further measurements of current generated by peeling a pressure sensitive tape from a copper substrate where greater care was taken to minimize electrical breakdown and charge recombination across the failed interface. The highest currents, produced by peeling gold-coated tape in vacuum, correspond to surface charge densities ⩾2.8 mC/m2. With typical displacements of 5 μm, this charge density would increase the work required for interfacial failure by 2 J/m2; this is much greater than the thermodynamic work of adhesion (≈ 33 mJ/m2) but much less than the observed peel energy (200–300 J/m2). These currents can be manipulated by applying a bias voltage across the substrate and coating. The good correlation between peel force and current measurements under these conditions suggests that the peel force would be 30–60% lower in the absence of electrostatic effects. This result is discussed in terms of the irreversible nature of the charge separation during peeling.
