Exothermic surface chemistry on aluminum particles promoting reactivity

- Aluminum particles reacted with polytetrafluoroethylenes (PTFE) with varied chain lengths.
- Surface exothermic chemistry associated with the alumina passivation and fluorine was observed.
- Results show tailoring the molecular structure of PTFE can allow for tailored reaction kinetics and surface chemistry that can be manipulated to control the overall reactivity of aluminum.
- There is a link between the molecular level exothermic surface chemistry associated with alumina and the overall reactivity of aluminum particles.