High-resolution transmission electron microscopy of nanoparticles of aluminum has resolved the oxide surface and aluminum lattice down to atomic level. The oxide was found to be about 2.5 nm in thickness with a part amorphous and part crystalline nature. It appears highly porous, allowing the permeation of water molecules from humidity, linkable with the aging characteristics. The aluminum crystal lattice revealed a slight compressive stress. A model of the oxidation was developed to characterize the process. Finally the presence of impurities detected in the nanoaluminum is revealed as a trigger to low-temperature (below the melting point) autocatalytic reactions.
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Ramaswamy et al. (2005) studied this question.
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