Aluminium(II) oxide or aluminium monoxide is a compound of aluminium and oxygen with the chemical formula AlO. It has been detected in the gas phase after explosion of aluminized grenades in the upper atmosphere[1][2][3] and in stellar absorption spectra.[4]
Aluminium(II) oxide is one of the aluminium oxides (the most common is aluminium oxide Al2O3), as it was the rare example of an aluminium(II) compound since aluminium usually exists in its +3 oxidation state.
Reactions
Aluminium monoxide is an unstable compound, due to it easily reacting with oxygen to become aluminium(III) oxide:[5]
- 4AlO + O
2 → 2Al
2O
3
See also
References
- ^ D. C. Tyte (1964). “Red (B2Π–A2σ) Band System of Aluminium Monoxide”. Nature. 202 (4930): 383. Bibcode:1964Natur.202..383T. doi:10.1038/202383a0. S2CID 4163250.
- ^ D. C. Tyte (1967). “The dissociation energy of aluminium monoxide”. Proc. Phys. Soc. 92 (4): 1134–1137. Bibcode:1967PPS….92.1134T. doi:10.1088/0370-1328/92/4/339.
- ^ Johnson E. R.; Low C. H. (1967). “Further spectral observations of grenade glow clouds in the lower thermosphere”. Australian Journal of Physics. 20 (5): 577. Bibcode:1967AuJPh..20..577J. doi:10.1071/ph670577.
- ^ Merrill, P. W.; Deutsch, A. J. & Keenan, P. C. (1962). “Absorption Spectra of M-Type Mira Variables”. Astrophysical Journal. 136: 21. Bibcode:1962ApJ…136…21M. doi:10.1086/147348.
- ^ “Aluminium(II) Oxide”. QS Study. Retrieved 2025-11-05.
