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The oxidation behavior of iron polycrystals and single crystals with (110) surface orientation was studied at 450°C. Energy-dispersive diffraction with synchrotron radiation provided in situ information regarding the evolution of stress gradients and fiber texture in the oxide scales. Within this low-temperature regime, grain boundaries caused the oxidation kinetics of polycrystalline iron to be more rapid than iron single crystals only during the first minutes of oxidation. Epitaxial growth of iron oxides occurred only on single crystal substrates during the initial oxidation. In situ stress analyses suggested that stress relief occurred invariably in the magnetite layer due to the formation of a fine-grained seam near the iron substrates. Above the magnetite and in the hematite layer, the growth stresses depend initially on volumetric strains and later on inner oxide formation and creep of the hematite.

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