Surface Energy and Stress in Metal Alloys

Surface energy arises at the boundary between a metal alloy and its environment, reflecting the excess energy of atoms at the surface compared to the bulk. Combined with surface stress, which quantifies the mechanical forces parallel to the surface, these parameters govern phenomena such as wetting, adhesion, corrosion and catalysis. In metal alloys, variations in composition, crystalline orientation and the presence of defects or segregated phases modify atomic bonding at surfaces and interfaces, leading to localised changes in energy and stress. Misfit strain between embedded nanoparticles and the host lattice can stabilise nanostructures, while thermal and mechanical loads induce stress-driven surface relaxations and reconstructions. A deep understanding of surface energy and stress in alloys is crucial to design materials for aerospace, energy and electronic applications.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have employed quantitative low-energy electron diffraction combined with density functional theory to resolve the atomic-scale structure of Cu(410) surfaces, demonstrating alternating expansions and contractions of interlayer spacings and corresponding smoothing of the electron density. These findings elucidate how defect distributions at high-index surfaces influence surface energetics, reactivity and relaxation. Advanced computational treatments have further illustrated the role of local strain in directing surface reconstructions and the impact of undercoordinated atoms on stress distributions, offering a pathway to engineer catalytic and corrosion-resistant alloy surfaces at the atomic level.

Surface Energy and Stress in Metal Alloys publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in surface energy and stress in metal alloys across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Surface energy: Excess energy per unit area at a material surface due to unsaturated atomic bonds.

Surface stress: In-plane force per unit length acting along a surface, arising from atomic interactions and lattice distortion.

Misfit strain: Elastic deformation caused by lattice parameter differences between a precipitate and its host alloy.

Interfacial free energy: Thermodynamic energy cost per unit area at the boundary between two phases, such as liquid and solid.

Density functional theory: Quantum-mechanical method for computing electronic structure and total energies of materials at the atomic scale.

References

1. Misfit stabilized embedded nanoparticles in metallic alloys. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2015).
2. Проведено розрахунок міжфазної поверхневої енергії на межі рідка-кристалічна фази для деяких щільно упакованих металів (Au, Cu, Al) та кремнію. Для обчислень використано метод капілярних флуктуацій за температур близьких до точки плавлення досліджених м. Physico-mathematical modelling and informational technologies (2022).
3. Quantitative Multilayer Cu(410) Structure and Relaxation Determined by QLEED. Scientific Reports (2019).