Work function

In solid-state physics, the work function (sometimes spelled workfunction) is the minimum thermodynamic work (i.e. energy) needed to remove an electron from a solid to a point in the vacuum immediately outside the solid surface. Here "immediately" means that the final electron position is far from the surface on the atomic scale, but still too close to the solid to be influenced by ambient electric fields in the vacuum. The work function is not a characteristic of a bulk material, but rather a property of the surface of the material (depending on crystal face and contamination).

Definition

The work function W for a given surface is defined by the difference

where −e is the charge of an electron, ϕ is the electrostatic potential in the vacuum nearby the surface, and E_F is the Fermi level (electrochemical potential of electrons) inside the material. The term −eϕ is the energy of an electron at rest in the vacuum nearby the surface. In words, the work function is thus defined as the thermodynamic work required to remove an electron from the material to a state at rest in the vacuum nearby the surface.