Comparative Study of the Oxidation of NiAl(100) by Molecular Oxygen and Water Vapor Using Ambient-Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

The oxidation behavior of NiAl(100) by molecular oxygen and water vapor under a near-ambient pressure of 0.2 Torr is monitored using ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. O₂ exposure leads to the selective oxidation of Al at temperatures ranging from 40 to 500 °C. By contrast, H₂O exposure results in the selective oxidation of Al at 40 and 200 °C, and increasing the oxidation temperature above 300 °C leads to simultaneous formation of both Al and Ni oxides. These results demonstrate that the O₂ oxidation forms a nearly stoichiometric Al₂O₃ structure that provides improved protection to the metallic substrate by barring the outward diffusion of metals. By contrast, the H₂O oxidation results in the formation of a defective oxide layer that allows outward diffusion of Ni at elevated temperatures for simultaneous NiO formation.