Oxidation of Copper and Copper‐Gold Alloys in CO 2 at 1000 ° C : I . Linear Kinetics

Abstract

The oxidation rates of copper (99.999 w/o) and copper‐gold alloys (Cu‐5.32 a/o Au and Cu‐10 a/o Au) have been studied as a function of partial pressure of carbon dioxide at 1000°C. The oxidation rates are initially linear. When a certain oxide thickness is attained, there is a decrease in the rate after which the kinetics again become linear. For all the samples the linear rate constant decreases nonlinearly with decreasing partial pressure of . In addition, the effect of various flow rates of carbon dioxide on the oxidation rate of pure copper has been studied.