Influence of Oxygen Pressure on the Oxidation Kinetics of Copper in Dry Air at Room Temperature

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Abstract
The effect of oxygen pressure in the range of 0.01–0.21 atm O2 pressure on the oxidation behavior of annealed copper at room temperature was investigated. The results have been analyzed with reference to the Cabrera‐Mott theory of growth of very thin oxide films on metals. The alteration in the rate of oxidation has been explained on the basis of the cationic vacancy concentration of the oxide, as it is well established that the oxygen pressure on a p‐type oxide semiconductor surface has an influence on the cationic vacancy concentration of the semiconductor. A correlation of rate constant with pressure has been obtained which is in conformity with the theoreticaltreatment of the kinetics by Grimley and Trapnell assuming the destructionof cation vacancies at the metal oxide interface to be the rate controlling step.