Control Static electricity like electromagnet Can we use a battery to generate static energy on a plate? If the power is on it should attract dust or small objects. If power is off just drop them. Just like I can with an electromagnet. Is friction necessary for static energy?
 A: You are thinking in the right direction. But a few changes are needed. 
Electricity involves moving electrons around, which are charged particles. They are generally balanced by protons, which typically stay put. So overall, things are neutral or very close to it. 
Plates are ceramic or plastic or paper. Non-conductors. You would need a metal plate so electrons can move around. 
If you remove a few electrons from a dust particle, and add a few to a plate, the dust will be attracted to the plate. But a neutral dust particle would just sit there. 
Sometimes electrons can move around in a dust particle without leaving it. If such a particle gets near a negatively charged plate, electrons would move to the far side. The near side would be positively charged and the far side negative. Since the near side is closer, it would feel a stronger force than the far side. The particle would be attracted. 
But a plate is the wrong geometry for this. It turns out a needle would work better. 
Static electricity from shuffling on the carpet or petting the cat is thousands of volts. This is enough to attract small things. It is also enough to make sparks when you get near something. 
Batteries are a few volts. That isn't enough. Friction isn't needed for making static electricity. It is just a convenient way to make thousands of volts. 
You may wonder why thousands of volts in static electricity doesn't hurt you, but a hundred volts from the wall socket can kill. We charge small things to thousands of volts. The wall is connected to a very large power station. It is a little like dropping a small rock on you from the roof versus dropping a boulder from a foot up. The boulder hurts more. 
So your idea can be made to work. But it isn't so easy as it sounds. It turns out that moving air around is a lot easier. So a vacuum cleaner is a better way. Or a broom. Brooms work as much by moving air as by directly pushing dust. 
