Thermal vacancies in random alloys in the single-site mean-field approximation

A formalism for the vacancy formation energies in random alloys within the single-site mean-filed approximation, where vacancy-vacancy interaction is neglected, is outlined. It is shown that the alloy configurational entropy can substantially reduce the concentration of vacancies at high temperatures. The energetics of vacancies in random Cu0.5Ni0.5 alloy is considered as a numerical example illustrating the developed formalism. It is shown that the effective formation energy increases with temperature, however, in this particular system it is still below the mean value of the vacancy formation energy, which would correspond to the vacancy formation energy in a homogeneous model of a random alloy, such as given by the coherent potential approximation.