Photoelectrochemical spectroscopy and capacitance measurements were used in this work to assess the electronic properties of the oxide films formed on 99.5% aluminium and 2024-T3 aluminium alloy by anodising in a sulphuric-boric bath. The morphology of these films was also studied by transmission electron microscopy cross-section observations. The results obtained indicate that the oxide films formed on aluminium show a n-type semiconductive behaviour, with bandgap energies that are identical for the oxides studied, despite their different characteristics. It was found out that capacitance measurements may be used as a valuable technique for the assessment of the quality of anodised layers, allowing the distinction between an efficient and an inefficient scaling. Therefore, they may be used to predict the corrosion resistance of these materials. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.