This work presents a novel procedure to study the growth of the surface native oxide film on metals in air, based on scanning Kelvin probe force microscopy. For reactive metals such as aluminium, when the native metal oxide is damaged, fast reformation of the oxide film occurs. The methodology presented here allows this oxide film reformation to be studied in situ. By monitoring the evolution of the Volta potential with time in a scratch on the sample's surface, the characteristic behavior of the oxidation of aluminium metal could be observed. The procedure was carried out on a pure aluminium sample, but could potentially be applied in other metals, provided that the relation between the oxide film and the Volta potential is established.

这项工作提出了一种新颖的方法，基于扫描开尔文探针力显微镜，研究了空气中金属表面自然氧化膜的生长。对于诸如铝的反应性金属，当天然金属氧化物被破坏时，发生氧化膜的快速重整。此处介绍的方法使该氧化膜重整能够在原位进行研究。通过监测样品表面划痕中Volta电位随时间的变化，可以观察到铝金属氧化的特征行为。该程序是在纯铝样品上进行的，但只要确定了氧化膜与伏特电位之间的关系，就可以应用于其他金属。