Two Alz03/Al composites, grown by the directed oxidation of molten A1 alloys at 1400 and 1600 K, were investigated by X-ray diffraction, optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and wet chemical analysis. The materials were found to contain a continuous network of AlZ0,, which was predominantly free of grain-boundary phases and was made up of nanometer-to micrometer-sized crystallites, a continuous network of A1 alloy, and isolated inclusions of A1 alloy. No crystallographic orientation was observed in the metallic phase, whereas the A1203 was oriented with its e axis parallel to the growth direction. The higher process temperature yielded a lower metal content and less connectivity of the metallic constituent. [
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