Heterogeneity of surface potential in contact electrification under ambient conditions: A comparison of pre- and post-contact states

•We measured the surface electric potential before and after contact electrification.•After contact with silicone elastomer, the glass surface had heterogeneous charge.•After contact with silicone elastomer, the gold surface was uniformly charged.•Data show that macro-scale contact with glass can lead to micro-scale charge pattern.

We measured the pattern of charging by contact electrification, following contact between a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) stamp and a glass substrate with gold electrodes. We used scanning Kelvin probe microscopy to map the surface potential at the same regions before and after contact, allowing a point-by-point comparison. After contact, the mean surface potential of the glass shifted by 360 mV and micron-scale heterogeneity appeared with a magnitude of ∼100 mV. The gold electrodes showed charge transfer but no discernible heterogeneity. These results show that contact electrification causes heterogeneity of surface potential even on non-polymer surfaces such as glass under ambient conditions.