Atomic-level mechanisms of magnesium oxidation

• Magnesium has been recently becoming an increasingly popular material for various applications. However, excessive chemical reactivity, and oxidation rate in particular, is a major obstruction on the way of Mg to become widely adopted. A significant problem causing the lack of Mg reactivity control is insufficient understanding of mechanisms involved in the oxidation of magnesium surface. Herewith we present the investigation of atomic-level mechanisms of oxidation initiation and propagation in pure Mg. Namely, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy at synchrotron Elettra was used as a surface sensitive direct method to determine the valence of Mg and O and the valence band states at the early stage of oxide formation over a principal, most densely packed, crystallographic plane (0001) in pure Mg. The mechanisms of oxygen adsorption on magnesium free surface followed by oxidation (i.e. initiation and kinetics of MgO formation) are clarified.

Subject headings

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Magnesium

Oxidation

Synchrotron radiation

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

Publication and Content Type

kon (subject category)

ref (subject category)