Thermodynamics and intrinsic structure of the Al-Pb liquid-liquid interface: a molecular dynamics simulation study

We examine the thermodynamics and intrinsic structure of the Al-Pb liquid-liquid interface using molecular dynamics simulation and embedded atom method potentials. The instantaneous interfacial positions, from which the intrinsic structure and the capillary fluctuation spectrum are determined, are calculated using a grid-based method. The interfacial free energy extracted from the capillary fluctuation spectrum is shown to be in excellent agreement with that calculated mechanically by integrating the stress profile. The intrinsic liquid-liquid interfacial density profile shows structural oscillations in the liquid phases in the interfacial region that are shown to be quantitatively similar to the radial distribution functions of the bulk liquid, consistent with theoretical predictions from classical density functional theory and with earlier simulations on liquid-liquid and liquid-vapor interfaces. In addition, we show the mean interfacial density profile for this system is well described as a convolution of the intrinsic density profile and the probability distribution of interfacial position.