The Growth of Hydrous Oxide Films on Aluminum

The weight gains of Al specimens immersed for short times in water at 50°–70°C were measured. An analysis of these data and published results at other temperatures indicated that the kinetics of pseudoboehmite film growth in the temperature range 50°–100°C is determined initially by the nucleation and growth of hydrolysis sites on the amorphous oxide surface, and subsequently by solid‐state diffusion through the pseudoboehmite layer. At 40° C, pseudoboehmite and bayerite were observed to grow simultaneously at first, with bayerite crystallization eventually becoming the dominant process. The two oxide phases occupied completely separate layers.