New approach to defining thermodynamic surface tension of solids

Using either the chemical potential of the immobile component of a solid dissolved in a fluid phase or the corresponding component of the tensor of chemical potential in solid phase, a new concept of the grand thermodynamic potential of solid-fluid two-phase system is proposed. For a planar interfacial surface, this makes it possible to generalize the notion of thermodynamic surface tension σ introduced by Gibbs that has the meaning of the formation work of a unit surface. This tension is determined as the specific surface excess of the grand thermodynamic potential. This definition of the thermodynamic surface tension does not depend on the position of the dividing surface and is common for fluids and solids. It is shown that, at the arbitrary position of dividing surface, the difference between thermodynamic σ and mechanical @[gamma] surface tensions for solid surface is determined by the nonuniformity of the tensor of chemical potential in a solid, as well as by its anisotropy in the bulk of solid phase.