The solid–liquid interface energy at the melting temperature of metal materials

Abstract

Solid–liquid interface energy is usually defined as the reversible work required to form or stretch plastically the solid–liquid interface per unit area. Many important processes and phenomena are directly related to it. Therefore, it is necessary to determine quantitatively the energy value of the solid–liquid interface. However, compared with the liquid–gas interface energy, it is not easy to measure the solid–liquid interface energy directly through experiments even for pure substances, and it will be more difficult to measure. Therefore, it is very necessary to develop reliable theoretical methods for predicting the solid–liquid interface energy. In this paper, an analytical model for calculating the solid–liquid interface energy of bulk materials is established. This model has no adjustable free parameters. It is obtained by combining the Gibbs–Thomson expression of the free energy at the interface between the crystal and liquid and the theory of homogeneous nucleation. The comparison with experimental data and other theoretical results verifies the correctness of the model in predicting the solid–liquid interface of metals and organic substances.