[CrazyCh3m]

Hi guys,
I need to use some >95% Al powder as a reactant.
Looking in the web I found that the powder react strong with the air and the advice is to handle it under inert condition.
Since I have to weight the stuff and then mix them with a base TMAOH I'm wondering if will be the same instead of using the powder if I use some beads which are easy to handle.
I guess that the beads dissolve easily in the alkaline solution. Am I right?

The reaction should lead to an aluminium silicate crystal.

Thanks
 

[ajkoer]

Aluminum will always have a passive layer of Al2O3 as it is highly reactive with O2.

However, if the intention is for a themite reaction, the finer the particle size, the better.

I always wondered what would happen upon inserting a Magnesium metal sheet into an aqueous bath of an Al salt (possible Al strips or plating that could be manually scraped off to produce fine/reactive Al?).

Or, one could use very fine Mg powder (or, a precipitate of Mg metal) and add it to an Aluminum salt solution.

[CrazyCh3m]

At the end I'll go for some beads 5-15 mm so there shouldn't be problem.