Pure aluminum and magnesium cube samples were heated at a specific temperature for a given time after being polished by abrasive papers. The amorphous layer that formed on the sample surface was transformed into a crystallized oxide film during the heating and holding period. We discuss how this thermally-formed oxide film progressively developed on the surface of the cubic samples. Gibbsite (Al(OH) 3 ) forms on pure aluminum during the initial stage of heating, after which it is then transformed to complex oxides, diaspore and -alumina. After an extended holding time at 883 K, the thermally-formed oxide film will be comprised of gibbsite, diaspore, -Al 2 O 3 and -alumina. This thermally-formed oxide film is compact and contains evenly-distributed microchannels. With pure magnesium, the transformation of periclase from brucite is associated with the formation of microcracks. In this study we use TGA (thermo-gravimetric analysis) to describe the progressive development of complex oxides and periclase films on pure Al and Mg respectively.
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