Anomalous surface segregation behaviour of some 3d elements in ferromagnetic iron

Abstract

The segregation of Cr in Fe is known to be anomalous since the barrier for surface segregation of Cr is not determined by the topmost surface layer, as one would expect, but rather by the subsurface layer where the energy of segregation is much larger and endothermic. This has been attributed to a complex interaction involving the antiferromagnetism of Cr and the ferromagnetism of Fe. We report in this paper the results of our ab initio electronic structure calculations on the segregation behaviour of all the 3d elements on the (1 0 0) surface of ferromagnetic iron in the hope of better understanding this phenomenon. We find a similar behaviour for the segregation of the next antiferromagnetic 3d element Mn in Fe, where the subsurface layer is also found to block the segregation of Mn to the surface. On the other hand, ferromagnetic Co exhibits a normal segregation behaviour. The elements Sc, Cu and Ni do not form solid solutions with ferromagnetic iron. The early elements Ti and V are non-magnetic in their metallic states, but are strongly polarized by Fe, and develop magnetic moments which are aligned antiferromagnetically to those of Fe atoms. While the subsurface layer blocks the segregation of Ti to the surface, no blocking behaviour is found for the segregation of V. The segregation behaviour of all these elements is strongly correlated with the displacement of the solute atoms on the surface of Fe. The elements showing anomalous segregation behaviour are all displaced upwards on the surface, while those showing normal segregation are pulled inwards. These results indicate that the antiferromagnetism of the segregating element plays the key role in the anomalous segregation behaviour in Fe.