The surface tension of liquid Cu–Fe–Sb alloys

The results of study on the influence of temperature and iron and antimony on the surface tension of liquid ternary Cu–Fe–Sb systems are presented. The measurements were carried out with the sessile drop method, in a broad range of the alloy additions concentration (Fe and Sb). It was demonstrated that the surface tension varies as a linear function of temperature and concentration of iron. It was also demonstrated that antimony, in examined alloys, shows the properties characteristic of a surface-active substance, significantly reducing the surface tension value. The changes of the surface tensions as a function of concentration of antimony were described with the Szyszkowski's equation. Composition of surface layer, enriched with an antimony, was determined basing on the model, which used data regarding properties of binary systems. The surface tension values of Cu–Fe–Sb systems was also computed from model and compared with experimental data. A good agreement was obtained.