dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaWork functions, ionization potentials, and in-between: Scaling relations based on the image charge model
| Authors | Kin Wong, Sascha Vongehr, Vitaly V. Kresin |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | physics/0207116 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0207116 |
| DOI | 10.1103/PhysRevB.67.035406 |
| Journal | Physical Review B 67, 035406 (2003) |
Abstract
We revisit a model in which the ionization energy of a metal particle is associated with the work done by the image charge force in moving the electron from infinity to a small cut-off distance just outside the surface. We show that this model can be compactly, and productively, employed to study the size dependence of electron removal energies over the range encompassing bulk surfaces, finite clusters, and individual atoms. It accounts in a straightforward manner for the empirically known correlation between the atomic ionization potential (IP) and the metal work function (WF), IP/WF$\sim$2. We formulate simple expressions for the model parameters, requiring only a single property (the atomic polarizability or the nearest neighbor distance) as input. Without any additional adjustable parameters, the model yields both the IP and the WF within $\sim$10% for all metallic elements, as well as matches the size evolution of the ionization potentials of finite metal clusters for a large fraction of the experimental data. The parametrization takes advantage of a remarkably constant numerical correlation between the nearest-neighbor distance in a crystal, the cube root of the atomic polarizability, and the image force cutoff length. The paper also includes an analytical derivation of the relation of the outer radius of a cluster of close-packed spheres to its geometric structure.
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"abstract": "We revisit a model in which the ionization energy of a metal particle is\nassociated with the work done by the image charge force in moving the electron\nfrom infinity to a small cut-off distance just outside the surface. We show\nthat this model can be compactly, and productively, employed to study the size\ndependence of electron removal energies over the range encompassing bulk\nsurfaces, finite clusters, and individual atoms. It accounts in a\nstraightforward manner for the empirically known correlation between the atomic\nionization potential (IP) and the metal work function (WF), IP/WF$\\sim$2. We\nformulate simple expressions for the model parameters, requiring only a single\nproperty (the atomic polarizability or the nearest neighbor distance) as input.\nWithout any additional adjustable parameters, the model yields both the IP and\nthe WF within $\\sim$10% for all metallic elements, as well as matches the size\nevolution of the ionization potentials of finite metal clusters for a large\nfraction of the experimental data. The parametrization takes advantage of a\nremarkably constant numerical correlation between the nearest-neighbor distance\nin a crystal, the cube root of the atomic polarizability, and the image force\ncutoff length. The paper also includes an analytical derivation of the relation\nof the outer radius of a cluster of close-packed spheres to its geometric\nstructure.",
"arxiv_id": "physics/0207116",
"authors": [
"Kin Wong",
"Sascha Vongehr",
"Vitaly V. Kresin"
],
"categories": [
"physics.atm-clus"
],
"doi": "10.1103/PhysRevB.67.035406",
"journal_ref": "Physical Review B 67, 035406 (2003)",
"title": "Work functions, ionization potentials, and in-between: Scaling relations based on the image charge model",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/physics/0207116"
},
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