New molybdenum boride-aluminum material forms its own protective coating

Drexel University, Linkoping University and Imperial College London developed a new aluminum boride material, molybdenum boride (MoAlB). The researchers incorporated a molybdenum-boron lattice into a double-layered aluminum structure to form alternating molybdenum and molybdenum layers, and the resulting material could resist oxidation at extremely high temperatures.

At high temperatures, the aluminum atoms in the material selectively diffuse to the surface and react with oxygen to form a surface aluminum oxide layer that further hinders the oxidation reaction. In addition, the molybdenum aluminum boride (MoAlB) material is also highly conductive at high temperatures, and its melting point is expected to exceed 1400 degrees Celsius.