Metals may seem tough, but given enough time even plain old air can be their undoing. Oxygen reacts with it to form metal oxides like rust, but now it turns out a metal oxide may come to the rescue.

Sometimes you come across a purported scientific paper that makes you do a triple-check, just to be sure that you didn’t overlook something, as maybe the claims do make sense after all. Such is the ...

In the lab Researchers at TU Wien employed noncontact atomic force microscopy and computational modelling to determine the structure of the aluminium oxide surface. (Courtesy: TU Wien) Determining the ...

It is not uncommon for a Hackaday writer to trawl the comments section of a given article, looking for insights or to learn something new. Often, those with experience in various fields will share ...

Why do certain surfaces behave very differently from what theoretical calculations suggest? Scientists long assumed that the aluminum oxide surface should be highly reactive and capable of splitting ...

Aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3), also known as alumina, corundum, sapphire, or ruby, is one of the best insulators used in a wide range of applications: in electronic components, as a support material for ...

With the unique properties of nanomaterials, such as having a high surface-to-volume ratio and a diverse morphology and structure, they have become a desirable material for different applications.

“We don’t need any energy input, and it bubbles hydrogen like crazy. I’ve never seen anything like it,” said UCSC Professor Scott Oliver, describing a new aluminum-gallium nanoparticle powder that ...

THE chromium–aluminium oxide catalyst system is one most commonly used in the aromatization of paraffinic hydrocarbons. In practice, mixtures containing up to 20 per cent chromium oxide are used, this ...

Scanning electron microscopy of the composite shows aluminum nanoparticles in a matrix of gallium. (Credit: Amberchan et al., 2022) Aluminum is a highly reactive metal that can strip oxygen from water ...