Abstract
Spectral emissivity depends on the surface conditions of the materials. The mechanisms that affect the spectral emissivity in anodic oxide films on aluminum were investigated. The aluminum specimens were anodized in a sulfuric acid solution and the thickness of the resulting oxide film formed changed with the anodizing time. FT-IR spectrum analysis identified the anodic oxide film as boehmite ($Al_2$$O_3$.$H_2$O). Both the infrared emisivity and reflectivity of the anodized aluminum were affected by the structure of the anodic oxide film because Al-OH and Al-O-Al have a pronounced absorption band in the infrared region of the spectrum. The presence of an anodic oxide film on aluminum caused a rapid drop in the infrared reflectivity. An aluminum surface in the clean state had an emissivity of approximately 0.2. However, the infrared emissivity rapidly increased to 0.91 as the thickness of the anodic oxide film increased.
