An Anomalous Internal Oxidation of Dilute Cu-Ni Alloys at 800 °C under 1 atm O2

Abstract

The oxidation of six Cu-xNi alloys (x = 0.2, 0.6, 1, 2, 3, 4 at.%) was studied at 800 °C under 1 atm O2. All of the binary Cu-Ni alloys underwent an internal oxidation of Ni in the presence of an external scale of Cu2O and CuO, in agreement with the theoretical expectations for a finite range of Ni contents. However, the behavior of internal oxidation deviates significantly from the classical behavior of internal oxidation described by Wagner, in particular for the absence of a well-defined front of internal oxidation.

Keywords

• cu-ni alloys
• oxidation
• ni