Effect of amorphicity on the triboelectrification of lactose powder

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the effect of amorphous content on the triboelectrification of lactose powder. Lactoses of various degrees of amorphicity were prepared by spray drying from water/ethanol suspension containing 15% w/w α-lactose monohydrate. These powder samples were then tribocharged by sliding them through a polypropylene pipe into a Faraday pail. Usually, it is quite impossible to determine very small values of amorphicities. However, surface amorphicity has a significant role on the properties of the materials including charging. Triboelectrification being a very surface sensitive phenomenon might be a useful tool in studying the amorphous surfaces. Generated charges were found to increase with the increasing amorphicity and amorphous contents <1% could be distinguished from the tribocharging data.