Embedded atom method for elastic constants of iridium binary alloys (at room temperature) T. H. Akande * ,‡ , F. Matthew-Ojelabi * , G. S. Agunbiade * and O. O. Awe † * Department of Physics, Faculty of Science Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Nigeria † Basic Science Department, Physics Unit Babcock University, Ilisan-Remo, Nigeria ‡ taiwo.akande@eksu.edu.ng Received 17 January 2021 Accepted 21 January 2021 Published The elastic constants are paramount to determine the strength of alloys. The elastic constants of M–Ir, M 3 –Ir, and M–Ir 3 where M represents Cu, Au, Ni, Ag, Pt, Al, Pd and Rh were computed at room temperature using the embedded atom method (EAM) and the alloy mixing potentials. The potential parameters of the selected pure metals were ¯tted to the experimental values to compute some properties of Ni–Al, Ni 3 –Al, Ni–Al 3 , Cu–Au, Cu 3 –Au and Cu–Au 3 , and by comparing the experimental data with our predictions, the employed potential predicted some results in reasonable agreement to available experimental data with discrepancies in some cases, and these discrepancies linked to the dependence of the computed elastic constants on the ¯tting parameters. The potential with the metallic parameters was used as alloy parameters in com- puting the elastic constants, bulk modulus, and the shear modulus of the iridium binary alloy. It was generally observed that, the selected metals improve the ductility of Iridium with the highest value, recorded for Pd–Ir, and consequently the minimum value for Al–Ir, and Rh–Ir which characterized them to be ductile. The balance orders for the binary alloys were provided through the formation enthalpy. Keywords: Ductility; alloy mixing potentials; bulk modulus; shear modulus. PACS Nos.: 61.50.f, 77.74.Bw, 65.40.b. 1. Introduction Iridium (Ir) is one of the most important elements among the nine rarest elements of the platinum group metals (PGMs). It usually occurs in nature as an uncombined element or natural alloys. The PGMs are immensely important in numerous tech- nologies, but the experimental and computational data of the properties of their binary alloy still contain many gaps. Interest in PGMs is driven by their essential role in a wide variety of industrial applications, but the high cost is a challenging issue. Iridium (Ir) is one of the most important elements among the nine rarest elements of February 19, 2021 12:53:51pm WSPC/141-IJMPC 2150075 ISSN: 0129-1831 2nd Reading International Journal of Modern Physics C (2021) 2150075 (12 pages) # . c World Scienti¯c Publishing Company DOI: 10.1142/S0129183121500753 2150075-1