INFLUENCE OF POLYMORPHIC TRANSFORMATIONS ON ANISOTROPY OF THE SURFACE ENERGY AND THE WORK FUNCTION OF THE ELECTRON OF LITHIUM

Abstract

On the basis of the electronic-statistical method, a relationship is obtained and the surface energy and the work function of the electron of the faces of lithium crystals are estimated, taking into account the dispersion, polarization, and oscillatory interactions of the atoms of the surface layer. It was assumed that the crystal lattice has no defects. The expressions for the corrections and an analytical relationship between the work function of the electron and the surface energy are modified taking into account the type of the crystal lattice and the orientation of the faces. The work function of the electron and the surface energy of smooth faces are calculated at the limiting temperatures of the existence of polymorphic lithium phases. The influence of polymorphic transformations and temperature on the anisotropy is established. The temperature coefficient of the work function of an electron in a defect-free crystal is positive and amounts to about 0,1-1 meV. The calculation results are in good agreement with the experimental data for polycrystals.

Keywords

• work function of an electron
• surface energy
• lithium
• polymorphism