Surface energies and appearances of commonly exposed surfaces of scheelite crystal
(School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China)
Abstract: Surface energies of five different surfaces of scheelite crystal were calculated using density functional theory (DFT). Based on the calculation results, the predominantly exposed surfaces in the morphologies of scheelite crystals were predicted. {112} and {001} cleavage surfaces and {112} crystal surface are the commonly exposed surfaces, which are consistent with both previous literatures and the present experimental observations based on the XRD. Cleavage generates more easily along {112} surfaces than along {001} surfaces due to their different interlayer spacings. The surface roughness and appearance of different predominantly exposed surfaces were then investigated using AFM. The roughness of smooth {112} cleavage surface is the lowest among these three surfaces. On {001} cleavage surface, terraces are flat and separated by steps of about 10 nm in height. Subsequently, contact angle measurements were adopted to evaluate the wettability and surface energies of these surfaces. The surface energies evaluated directly correspond to the trend calculated with DFT.
Key words: scheelite; surface energy; cleavage; contact angle; wettability