Interface reactions were studied  in situ  by using a high-temperature X-ray diffractometer which was capable of furnishing a diffraction pattern every 1 to 2s. It was found that CuAlO2 formed at the interface, at temperatures of between 1411 and 1467K, in air. Its formation obeyed the parabolic rate law. The value of the associated activation energy (185kJ/mol) suggested that diffusion of O through the CuAlO2 controlled its rate of formation.

T.Fujimura, S.I.Tanaka: Acta Materialia, 1998, 46[9], 3057-61