Abstract
Investigations were made using interference microscopy of changes in the surface topography of silver specimens heated at 900°C in O 2, N 2, N 2 O 2 mixtures, a N 2 H 2 mixture and in vacua. The development of both two and three sets of planes on an originally flat surface was studied. The observed development of {111}, {100} and {110} facets when oxygen is present is ascribed to a lowering of the total surface free energy. Measurement of the angle of contact between low index surfaces (surface energy γ 0) and continuation — random orientation — surfaces (surface energy γ θ ) show that γ 0 γ θ increases toward unity as the concentration of oxygen is decreased. The results indicate that about 4 per cent more oxygen is adsorbed onto {111} and {100} surfaces and that this anisotropy of adsorption is the main cause of the anisotropy of surface energy in oxygen bearing atmospheres. A comparison of faceting with and without net evaporation indicates that recondensation of silver atoms causes some desorption of oxygen.
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