Estimate the surface energy of (110) face of Au crystals given just the information in the periodic table. Express your answer in the unit of J/cm2.
To estimate the surface energy of the (110) face of Au crystals using just the information in the periodic table, we can make use of the concept of surface tension and a simple formula.
Surface energy can be defined as the amount of energy required to create a unit area of a surface. It is measured in J/cm^2.
The key information we need from the periodic table is the atomic mass of gold (Au) and the lattice constant of the crystal structure.
1. Look up the atomic mass of gold (Au) on the periodic table. The atomic mass of gold is approximately 197 g/mol.
2. Determine the lattice constant of gold. The lattice constant is the distance between the atoms in the crystal lattice structure. For Au, the lattice constant is approximately 4.08 Å (angstroms).
3. Convert the lattice constant from angstroms to cm. 1 angstrom (Å) is equal to 1 × 10^-8 cm. Therefore, the lattice constant of gold in cm is 4.08 × 10^-8 cm.
4. Calculate the surface energy using the formula:
Surface Energy (J/cm^2) = [1 / (2 × lattice constant)] × [atomic mass (g/mol)] × [Avogadro's number (mol^-1)]
Substituting the values:
Surface Energy (J/cm^2) = [1 / (2 × 4.08 × 10^-8 cm)] × [197 g/mol] × [6.022 × 10^23 mol^-1]
5. Calculate the result:
Surface Energy (J/cm^2) ≈ 2.888 × 10^-3 J/cm^2
Therefore, the estimated surface energy of the (110) face of Au crystals, based on the given information from the periodic table, is approximately 2.888 × 10^-3 J/cm^2.