Ordering, disordering and segregation at binary interfaces: model system Cu3Au(001) Original Research Article

In this article we discuss surface and subsurface thermodynamic phenomena as they emerge when the bulk of the system undergoes a discontinuous order–disorder phase transition. We have chosen Cu3Au(001) as a model system and demonstrate that pronounced order, disorder and composition profiles are found at the Cu3Au(001) surface. Surface-sensitive X-ray scattering techniques that exploit the high brilliance of modern synchrotron radiation sources are ideally suited to unravel this novel thermodynamics between two and three dimensions.