Bayer: bauxite is digested in hot NaOH to sodium aluminate, from which pure Al2O3 is precipitated. Hall–Héroult: Al2O3 is dissolved in molten cryolite (Na3AlF6) at ~950 °C and electrolyzed; Al collects at the carbon cathode and CO2 comes off the anode.
Research Elements Al · atomic number 13 Post-transition metal · period 3, group 13 [Ne] 3s2 3p1 Shells: 2, 8, 3 Valence electrons: 3 in the outer shell (3s2 3p1) Green dots are the outer shell's s and p electrons. Softer green dots are the d electrons of transition metals, and the d and f electrons of lanthanides and actinides: they often take part in bonding, but not always. Grey dots are the core. Ground-state configuration from the NIST Atomic Spectra Database (A. Kramida, Yu. Ralchenko, J. Reader and the NIST ASD Team). Abundance is the mole fraction of the element found as that isotope on Earth; digits in parentheses are the uncertainty in the last digits. Masses and abundances from NIST, Atomic Weights and Isotopic Compositions (J. S. Coursey, D. J. Schwab, J. J. Tsai and R. A. Dragoset, National Institute of Standards and Technology).Aluminum
Electrons
How it's obtained
Natural isotopes
Isotope Relative atomic mass Abundance 27Al 26.98153853(11) 1