Crystal-liquid interfacial free energy and thermophysical properties of refractory Mo, Nb and Ta pure metal elements

Abstract

The crystal-liquid interfacial free energy (IFE) plays a crucial role in understanding crystal nucleation and growth phenomena across various scientific research fields. Measuring the IFE is very challenging under high-temperature environments, due to the volatility, reactivity, and contamination of molten metals that can result in ambiguous understanding of nucleation. It has been known that container-free techniques can overcome the experimental difficulties. In this study, we measure thermophysical parameters of the refractory metallic liquids (i.e., Nb, Mo, and Ta) and calculate their IFE. These results will be useful for understanding the fundamentals of nucleation and glass formation under high-temperature environment, as well as for designing new materials.