Adhesion of Anodic Films on Aluminum-Lithium Alloys

During anodizing of certain binary Al alloys, the growing anodic oxide film detaches from the alloy substrate, subsequently allowing access of the electrolyte to the underlying bare metal and re-anodizing at a high current density. An Al-3% Li alloy was shown to reveal these phenomena, which are associated with the development of voids at the alloy/film interface as the film thickens. The development of voids, assisting the film detachment, was attributed to the reduced volume of lithium oxide (Li₂O) formed at the alloy/film interface and compared to that of alumina (Al₂O₃).