Aluminium single crystal 13Al26.9815

Discovered in 1825 by Oersted at Copenhagen, Denmark.

[Latin: alumen = alum] French: aluminium
German: aluminium
Italian: alluminio
Spanish: aluminio

Description: Pure aluminum is soft and malleable, but can be toughened by alloying with small amounts of other metals like copper and magnesium. Aluminum objects are protected from reacting with air and water by an oxide film which forms rapidly on the surface. Aluminum is soluble in concentrated hydrochloric acid and in sodium hydroxide solution. The metal and its alloys have hundreds of uses in the vehicle, aircraft, and construction industries. It is used to make cans kegs, wrapping foil, household utensils, etc.

 

Metal single crystal properties
State: single crystal
Crystal structure: fcc
Production method: Bridgman or Czochralski
Standard size: diameter 12-20mm
thickness 1-2mm
Orientation: (100), (110) and (111)
Orientation accuracy: <2°, <1°, <0.5° or <0.1°
Polishing: as cut, one or two sides polished
Roughness of surface: <0.03 µm
Purity: 99.9999%
Typical analysis (ppm): Ag < 0.005
As < 0.2
B < 0.005
Ba < 0.1
Be < 0.005
Bi < 0.005
Ca < 0.050
Ce < 1.0
Cl < 1.0
Co < 0.1
Cr 0.009
Cs < 0.5
Cu < 0.4
F < 0.9
Fe 0.163
Ga < 0.005
Ge < 0.5
In < 0.005
K < 0.1
La < 0.5
Li < 0.1		 Mg 0.403
Mn 0.025
Mo < 0.2
Na 0.014
Ni < 0.005
O < 10
P 0.049
Pb < 0.005
Pd < 0.5
Pt < 0.5
S < 0.9
Sb < 0.005
Si 0.223
Sn < 0.2
Th 1.9 ppb
Ti 0.016
U 0.9 ppb
V 0.006
W < 0.5
Zn 0.024
Zr 0.005
Al balance

Further Materials properties

Crystal structure: (cell dimensions/pm), space group, fcc (a = 404.959), Fm3m
X-ray diffractions mass absorption coefficients: CuKa 48.6 (µ/r) / cm2g-1

MoKa 5.16 (µ/r) / cm2g-1
Neutron scattering length: 0.3449 b/10-12 cm
Thermal neutron capture cross-section: 0.231 sa / barns
Density: 2698 kg/m-3 [293 K]; 2390 [liquid at m.p.]
Melting point: 660.37 °C / 933.52 °K
Boiling point: 2466.85 °C / 2740 °K
Molar volume: 10.00 cm3
Thermal conductivity: 237 [300 K] Wm-1K-1
Coefficient of linear thermal expansion: 23.03 x 10-6 K-1
Electrical resistivity: 2.6548x10-8 [293 K] Wm
Mass magnetic susceptibility: +7.7 x 10-9(s) kg-1m3
Young's modulus: 70.6 GPa
Rigidity modulus: 26.2 GPa
Bulk modulus: 75.2 GPa
Poisson's ratio: 0.345 GPa
Radi: Al3+ 57; atomic 143; covalent 125; van der Waals 205
Electronegativity: 1.61 (Pauling); 1.47 (Allred); 3.23 eV (absolute)
Effective nuclear charge: 3.50 (Slater); 4.07 (Clementi); 3.64 (Froese-Fischer)
Number of Isotopes (incl. nuclear isomers): 11
Isotope mass range: 22 -> 31

Biological data  

Biological role: Al has no known biological role
Toxicity  
Toxic intake: 5 g
Lethal intake: n.a.
Hazards: Aluminium accumultates in the body from

a daily intake. Its compounds are used as

food additives and in indigestion tablets.
Level in humans  
Blood: 0.39 mg dm-3
Bone: 4 - 27 ppm
Liver: 3 - 23 ppm
Muscle: 0.7 - 28 ppm
Daily dietary intake: 2.45 mg
Total mass of element in average

[70 kg] person:

 60 mg

 

Geological data 

Minerals: Many minerals are known, and aluminium is present in many other minerals
Mineral Formula Density Hardness Crystal apperance
Bauxite AlO(OH) 2.3 1 - 3 rarely found as single crystals
Boehmite AlO(OH) 3.07 3 orth., white/brown, microscopic
Diaspore AlO(OH) 3.3 - 3.5 6.5 - 7 orth., white, thin plates
Gibbsite Al(OH)3 2.40 2.5 - 3.5 mon., pearly white, hexagonal

 

Chief ore: bauxite; diaspore is a constituent of bauxite
World production: 15 x 106 tonnes/year
Main mining areas: Surinam, Jamaica, Ghana, Indonesia, Russia
Reserves: 6 x 109 tonnes
Specimen: available as foil, granules, ingots, pellets, powder, rod, shot or wire. Safe.

Al-Powder can react dangerously with other materials

 

Abundances
Sun: 3.3 x 106 (relative to H = 1 x 1023)
Earth's crust: 82000 ppm
Seawater:  
Atlantic surface: 9.7 x 10-4 ppm
Atlantic deep: 5.2 x 10-4 ppm
Pacific surface: 1.3 x 10-4 ppm
Pacific deep: 0.13 x 10-4 ppm
Residence time: 150 years
Classification: scavenged
Oxidation state: III