ALUMINUM

The most __________________________________________________

The ____________ most common element in the earth's crust
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Group _____________________________________________________
Outer electron configuration of
__________________________________
Most common oxidation state:
___________________________________

Aluminum metal is industrially

important:
Low density
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Resistance to
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Separation of the Metal

Aluminum is a
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We used the Down’s Cell
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Aluminum tends to occur in nature in
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But we cannot simply melt and apply an electrical current to
separate out the aluminum
(the melting point of clay is
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Early method:
Add a more
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6 Na + Al2O3 → 2 Al + 3 Na2O
Therefore,
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1886: cheaper method for sodium:
NaOH + Fe + C
BUT, the same year, the Hall Process was discovered
The problem
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As a melt we can pass an electric current through and
separate the aluminum
Use the _____________________________________________________
Mix with ____________________________________________________
Apply heat
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Pass an electrical current through the melt,
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Hall Process
at the cathode
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at the anode
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Cryolite functions as a
_________________________________________
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The aluminum produced
is______________________________________

Hall Process
 Aluminum Industry:
___________ electrons are required to reduce one aluminum
ion
_____________________________________________________________
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One metric ton of aluminum requires
____ metric tons of aluminum oxide
____________ kilo Watt hours of electricity
Therefore
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(e.g.__________________________________________________)

Aluminum Industry:
The world's largest producer of bauxite
____________________________________________________
94% of all Al2O3
___________________________________________________________
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Al2O3 is also used
___________________________________________________________
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The U.S. consumes about
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Passivity
Industry likes aluminum because
___________________________________________________________
BUT it is ____________________________________________________
How can it resist corrosion?

Corrosion
Corrosion
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_______________________________________________________
a)
_______________________________________________________
b)
_______________________________________________________
Corrosion is the process where a
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Example
We do not find metallic iron in nature
Iron occur
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Therefore
___________________________________________________________
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(the Fe2+ state if the object is buried)

Electrochemical Series
According to the electrochemical series, aluminum more
unstable than iron
K (most active in water)
Ca
Na
Mg
Al ←
 Zn
Fe ←
Pb
Hydrogen
Cu
Hg
Au (least active in water)

Why does iron rust quickly and

aluminum resists corrosion?
Aluminum is referred to as a ____________________________
Metals are said to be ___________________________:
___________________________________________________________
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Passive versus Immune Metal

A metal is said to
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Aluminum is
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
Why is it passive?
Because
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Summary of terms
a) Active Metal
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b) Passive Metal
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__________________________________________________
c) Immune Metal
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The Surface of Aluminum

1. Al is ____________________________________________________
2.
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Al + O2 → Al2O3
This is an ________________________________________________
The initial film of Al2O3 is
______________________________________________________
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 ________________________________________________________
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3.
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The surface now controls
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Oxygen
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Therefore
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Aluminum is classified
_________________________________________________________
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Consider the Oxidation of Iron

1. Fe is ____________________________________________________
2.
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2Fe + O2 → 2FeO
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 ______________________________________________________
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3.
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But the oxide is porous (not packed well) and can
therefore
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The thickness of surface films on

metals will depend on:
a) _______________________________________________________
b) _______________________________________________________
Metal ions are smaller than the atom
(e.g. Feo is 1.26 angstroms, versus Fe3+ is 0.64 angstroms)
Therefore, one would expect that as a metal oxidizes,
_________________________________________________________
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_________________________________________________________
But, the metal ion is not the only species on the surface
-________________________________________________________
_
If: [molecular volume]product > [atomic volume]metal
___________________________________________________________
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For aluminum, the ratio of oxide to metal volume is
Al2O3 : Al = 1.24 : 1
The volume of the
_________________________________________
The result is a
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
The film is therefore
_________________________________________
Other metals, similar to aluminum, with a higher oxide to
metal ratio:
nickel: ___________________________________________
chromium: ________________________________________
tungsten: _________________________________________
If: [molecular volume]product < [atomic volume]metal
___________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
If there is no coherent layer of oxide,
_________________________________________________________
As in the case of iron
If we move from the metal to the atmosphere,
___________________________________________________________
 Metal Atmosphere
Fe FeO Fe3O4 Fe2O3 O2
oxidation state of iron:
___ ____ ____
Levels of corrosion may be expressed as metal loss in mils
per year (mpy), a mil being 0.001 inches (0.0025 cm) (1
mpy = 0.025 mm/year). In a cooling system, an
acceptable loss may be up to 10 to 15 mpy (0.25 to 0.37
mm/year). While it might appear that the best solution to
preventing corrosion is to use better materials (e.g.
stainless steel), one must consider the economics of the
situation - other materials can be extremely expensive.
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In order to ensure low levels of corrosion, inhibitors are
added to the water. Chromate is the most commonly used
corrosion inhibitor (passivator) for recirculating cooling
waters (e.g. for internal combustion engines, cooling
towers, etc.); the concentration of chromate (normally
sodium chromate, Na2CrO4) must be maintained in the
range of 200 to 300 mg/L CrO4.
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 ___________________________________________________________
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Chloride ions tend to have a great capacity to break
down passivity, or to prevent its formation. For
example salt water will quickly corrode aluminum
metal and can also break through the passive
coating on stainless steel. Chloride ion tends to
penetrate the oxide film through pores or defects
easier than any other ion. Because chloride is so
aggressive towards metals, corrosion testing is
normally done in the presence of chloride ions.
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C. Fluxes
We said that cryolite acted as a flux during the
electrowinning of aluminum. Remember, the
reason for heating the aluminum oxide was similar
to the reason for heating the sodium chloride - to
decompose (dissociate) the solid so that an
electrical current could pass through it. Sodium
chloride could be made to melt at temperatures
just over 800oC. However, it was simply too
difficult to melt aluminum oxide. Water could
dissociate salt, but would prevent the formation of
sodium. Likewise, we might find a strong acid or
base to dissolve Al2O3, but the aluminum would
tend to react with the water portion. The idea of
using aqueous solutions is good however. It
requires more than 800oC to separate sodium from
chloride in the solid phase, however, water can do
the same thing at room temperature.
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 ___________________________________________________________
Flux
A flux is a fused-salt media which is solid or semi-
solid at room temperature but liquefies at elevated
temperatures and acts as a solvent. A flux is used
to decompose substances by the combined action
of high temperature, high concentration of reagent
in contact with the sample, and the corrosive
nature of the reagents used in the flux.
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Example of Fluxes
Sodium carbonate is an example of a basic flux. Once
heated to melting (about 850oC), it will decompose most
silicates.
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Molten sodium hydroxide (strong basic flux; 350oC) will
attack oxides of chromium and antimony.
 ___________________________________________________________
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One can think of fluxes in the same way as water, acid or
base - fluxes are solvents, but at a higher temperature.