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Title: Atomic-Scale Insights into the Oxidation of Aluminum

Abstract

Here, the surface oxidation of aluminum is still poorly understood despite its vital role as an insulator in electronics, in aluminum–air batteries, and in protecting the metal against corrosion. Here we use atomic resolution imaging in an environmental transmission electron microscope (TEM) to investigate the mechanism of aluminum oxide formation. Harnessing electron beam sputtering we prepare a pristine, oxide-free metal surface in the TEM. This allows us to study, as a function of crystallographic orientation and oxygen gas pressure, the full oxide growth regime from the first oxide nucleation to a complete anometers-thick surface film.

Authors:
 [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [1];  [4];  [1]; ORCiD logo [1];  [1]
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  1. Univ. of Manchester, Manchester (United Kingdom)
  2. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
  3. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States); Univ. of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (United States)
  4. RWTH Aachen Univ., Aachen (Germany)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1434776
Report Number(s):
BNL-203567-2018-JAAM
Journal ID: ISSN 1944-8244
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0012704
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 10; Journal Issue: 3; Journal ID: ISSN 1944-8244
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE; aluminum; electron energy loss spectroscopy; environmental transmission electron microscopy; high resolution transmission electron microscopy; nucleation; oxide; transmission electron microscopy

Citation Formats

Nguyen, Lan, Hashimoto, Teruo, Zakharov, Dmitri N., Stach, Eric A., Rooney, Aidan P., Berkels, Benjamin, Thompson, George E., Haigh, Sarah J., and Burnett, Tim L. Atomic-Scale Insights into the Oxidation of Aluminum. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1021/acsami.7b17224.
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Nguyen, Lan, Hashimoto, Teruo, Zakharov, Dmitri N., Stach, Eric A., Rooney, Aidan P., Berkels, Benjamin, Thompson, George E., Haigh, Sarah J., & Burnett, Tim L. Atomic-Scale Insights into the Oxidation of Aluminum. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b17224
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Nguyen, Lan, Hashimoto, Teruo, Zakharov, Dmitri N., Stach, Eric A., Rooney, Aidan P., Berkels, Benjamin, Thompson, George E., Haigh, Sarah J., and Burnett, Tim L. Wed . "Atomic-Scale Insights into the Oxidation of Aluminum". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b17224. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1434776.
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@article{osti_1434776,
title = {Atomic-Scale Insights into the Oxidation of Aluminum},
author = {Nguyen, Lan and Hashimoto, Teruo and Zakharov, Dmitri N. and Stach, Eric A. and Rooney, Aidan P. and Berkels, Benjamin and Thompson, George E. and Haigh, Sarah J. and Burnett, Tim L.},
abstractNote = {Here, the surface oxidation of aluminum is still poorly understood despite its vital role as an insulator in electronics, in aluminum–air batteries, and in protecting the metal against corrosion. Here we use atomic resolution imaging in an environmental transmission electron microscope (TEM) to investigate the mechanism of aluminum oxide formation. Harnessing electron beam sputtering we prepare a pristine, oxide-free metal surface in the TEM. This allows us to study, as a function of crystallographic orientation and oxygen gas pressure, the full oxide growth regime from the first oxide nucleation to a complete anometers-thick surface film.},
doi = {10.1021/acsami.7b17224},
journal = {ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces},
number = 3,
volume = 10,
place = {United States},
year = {Wed Jan 10 00:00:00 EST 2018},
month = {Wed Jan 10 00:00:00 EST 2018}
}
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Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b17224
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Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 54 works
Citation information provided by
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Figures / Tables:

Figure 1 Figure 1: Artist's illustration showing environmental TEM imaging of an aluminum specimen in an O2 gas environment (green = electrons; blue = oxygen; gray = aluminum). Times stated are from the point of oxygen introduction shown in c (full sequence: SV1). (b–d) Sequential atomic resolution images of Al sample viewedmore » down the [011] zone axis direction with an exposed (100) surface facet parallel to the electron beam. (b) Shows evidence of the presence of the initial oxide formed before loading the sample in the TEM. This had already been partially sputtered away due to the high electron flux >54 000 e Å-2 s-1 so the observed oxide thickness is not representative of the initial oxide shown in Figure S2. (c) Once the oxide film has been fully removed the surface is atomically pristine aluminum. (d) 46 s and (e) 184 s after oxygen gas was introduced, the regrowth of aluminum's self-healing surface oxide is measured in situ. Scale bar in b–e: 1 nm.« less
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    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Advanced Technologies for High‐Energy Aluminum–Air Batteries
    journal, November 2018

    Oxidation of metal thin films by atomic oxygen: A low energy ion scattering study
    journal, October 2019

    • Stilhano Vilas Boas, C. R.; Sturm, J. M.; Bijkerk, F.
    • Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 126, Issue 15
    • DOI: 10.1063/1.5115112
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