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Updated: Aug 30, 2025

Multiscale Sampling of a Heterogeneous Water/Metal Catalyst Interface using Density Functional Theory and Force-Field Molecular Dynamics
Published on: April 12, 2019
A general method for calculating solid/liquid interfacial free energies from atomistic simulations: Application to
Stephen R Yeandel1, Colin L Freeman1, John H Harding1
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Sir Robert Hadfield Building, University of Sheffield, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We present a general method for computing interfacial free energies from atomistic simulations, which is particularly suitable for solid/liquid interfaces. Our method uses an Einstein crystal as a universal reference state and is more flexible than previous approaches. Surfaces with dipoles, complex reconstructions, and miscible species are all easily accommodated within the framework. It may also be extended to calculating the relative free energies of different phases and other types of defect. We have applied our method to interfaces of bassanite and gypsum with water and obtained interfacial free energies of the order of 0.12 J/m2, of which ∼45% is due to entropic contributions. Our calculations of the interfacial free energy of NaCl with water obtained a value of 0.13 J/m2, of which only 19% is from entropic contributions. We have also predicted equilibrium morphologies for bassanite and gypsum that compare well with experiments and previous calculations.
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