Oxidation: Metal—Gas Reactions

Abstract

Engineering metals react with air. If they react slowly they are usable, but at high temperatures many metals react disastrously because chemical reaction rates increase exponentially with temperature. The principal reactant in air is oxygen, so all gas-metal reactions have come to be called “oxidation,” using the term in its broadest sense. The reacting gas may be water vapor, hydrogen sulfide, chlorine, and so on, but the reaction mechanisms are essentially the same as for reaction with oxygen.