Effects of dislocation on electron work function of metal surface

Abstract

The great sensitivity of the electron work function (EWF) to surface condition has attracted increasing interest from surface scientists and tribologists. However, the effect of deformation on the EWF is unclear; this results in difficulty in applying the EWF in order to properly characterise tribological behaviour of materials. In this study, a simple electrostatic action model is proposed to investigate the effect of a dislocation on the EWF of a one-dimensional lattice. Using the model, one may illustrate how a dislocation influences the EWF. It has been demonstrated that the dislocation decreases the EWF and that both tensile and compressive plastic deformations can decrease the EWF. However, the situation is different if the deformation is in the elastic range.