General Information
Aluminium

Aluminum has only been used industrially since the late 19th century, although its compounds have been known since ancient times. Historical records indicate that, in the time of Pliny the Elder, the Romans used alum (double sulfate of aluminum and potassium) as a mordant to fix colors. In 1722, Friedrich Hoffmann proposed that this alum contained a particular “earth,” which would later be named alumina.

It took a long time to obtain the...