Oxide films continued cation vacancies

Consider Ni exposed to Oj/HjO vapour mixtures. Possible oxidation products are NiO and Ni (OH)2, but the large molar volume of Ni (OH)2, (24 cm compared with that of Ni, 6.6 cm ) means that the hydroxide is not likely to form as a continuous film. From thermodynamic data, Ni (OH)2 is the stable species in pure water vapour, and in all Oj/HjO vapour mixtures in which O2 is present in measurable quantities, and certainly if the partial pressure of O2 is greater than the dissociation pressure of NiO. But the actual reaction product is determined by kinetics, not by thermodynamics, and because the mechanism of hydroxide formation is more complex than oxide formation, Ni (OH)2 is only expected to form in the later stages of the oxidation at the NiO/gas interface. As it does so, cation vacancies are formed in the oxide according to... 

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