Electron work function: an indicative parameter towards a novel material design methodology

Electron work function (EWF) has demonstrated its great promise in materials analysis and design, particularly for single-phase materials, e.g., solute selection for optimal solid-solution strengthening. Such promise is attributed to the correlation of EWF with the atomic bonding and stability, which largely determines material properties. However, engineering materials generally consist of multiple phases. Whether or not the overall EWF of a complex multi-phase material can reflect its properties is unclear. Through investigation on the relationships among EWF, microstructure, mechanical and electrochemical properties of low-carbon steel samples with two-level microstructural inhomogeneity, we demonstrate that the overall EWF does carry the information on integrated electron behavior and overall properties of multiphase alloys. This study makes it achievable to develop electronic metallurgy-an electronic based novel alternative methodology for materials design.

Automated summary

The electron work function (EWF) shows great promise in material design, especially for single-phase materials. However, it is unclear whether the overall EWF can reflect the properties of multi-phase materials. Research has shown that the overall EWF does carry information on the overall properties of multiphase alloys, which opens up possibilities for developing electronic metallurgy.