Comparison of Surface Energy of Bcc Alkali Metals and Transition Metals Using Maeam

Abstract

The surface energies of the low index (100), (110) and (111) planes of some bcc alkali metals (Li,Na,K,Rb,Cs) and for the bcc transition metals (Fe,W,Mo,Cr,Ta,Nb and V) have been calculated using the Modified Analytical Embedded Atom Method (MAEAM).The surface energy of each (hkl) plane in alkali metals was found to be much more lower than those of the transition metals. The experimental values of surface energies are not tied to specific surfaces and are obtained for polycrystalline materials. They do not correlate with computed values published for any of these surfaces. This is expected since experiments give direct results. For all bcc metals the order of the surface energy is such that Es(110)