Correlations between surface and interface energies with respect to crystal nucleation.
The energetic chemical and structural properties of interfaces between solid and liquid metals are of great interest in numerous applications. However, solid-liquid interfacial energies of metals are often determined by nucleation experiments, requiring particular attention to the measurements so obtained. The purpose of this paper is to conduct an analysis of the level of liquid undercooling of 3d-, 4d-, and 5d-transition metals, as well as of other common undercooled elements, through a critical survey of thermophysical data and experimental results. As already pointed out for the liquid-vapor surface energy sigma(LV), the solid-liquid interface energy sigma(LS) determined from the maximum amount of liquid undercooling is well connected to the position of the element in the periodic table, leading to the individualization of each behavior, including the size of the critical nucleus. The beta ratio of sigma(LS)/sigma(LV) is demonstrated to be an interesting dimensionless number by which to classify the elements into distinctive groups. No significant unexplained anomaly is identified, except for Co, supporting the belief that Turnbull's classical theory furnishes a robust support to describe the crystal nucleation in pure elements.
Vinet
Bernard
B
Département Pour les Technologies des Energies Nouvelles, Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique, Direction de la Recherche Technologique, 17 rue des Martyrs, 38054 Grenoble Cédex 9, France. vinet@chartreuse.cea.fr
Magnusson
Lena
L
Fredriksson
Hasse
H
Desré
Pierre Jean
PJ