Thermal regimes of passivative oxide film formation on Al surface: Theoretical and experimental study

We report results of ab initio molecular dynamics simulations of an Al surface exposed to an oxygen atmosphere. The results, supported by experiments performed in this study, demonstrate that the Al surface, by reacting with the oxygen molecules, can be heated above melting temperature and transformed into a liquid. This process is potentially capable of creating an amorphous corrosion scale which might possess an enhanced resistance to deterioration.