Oxidation of Aluminum Melts with Rare-Earth Metals

Abstract

Thermogravimetry studies show that the oxidation of aluminum–rare-earth metal (R) melts obeys a parabolic law. The true oxidation rate of the melts is on the order of 10^–4–10^–3 kg/(m² s). In the Al–R systems, the minimum oxidation rate corresponds to the compositions of intermetallic compounds. The oxidation rate of a melt is shown to increase with temperature. It is found by IRS (infrared spectroscopy) and XRD (X-ray diffraction) that the melt oxidation products consist of γ-Al₂O₃, R₂O₃ (R = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Y, Sc), CeO₂, and rare-earth metal monoaluminates RAlO₃ (CeAlO₃, LaAlO₃, NdAlO₃).