A highly ordered metal nanohole array (platinum and gold) was fabricated by a two-step replication of the honeycomb structure of anodic porous alumina. Preparation of the negative porous structure of porous alumina followed by the formation of the positive structure with metal resulted in a honeycomb metallic structure. The metal hole array of the film has a uniform, closely packed honeycomb structure approximately 70 nanometers in diameter and from 1 to 3 micrometers thick. Because of its textured surface, the metal hole array of gold showed a notable color change compared with bulk gold.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/268/5216/1466.full.pdf

Ordered Metal Nanohole Arrays Made by a Two-Step Replication of Honeycomb Structures of Anodic Alumina

TiO(2) is one of the most studied compounds in materials science. Owing to some outstanding properties it is used for instance in photocatalysis, dye-sensitized solar cells, and biomedical devices. In 1999, first reports showed the feasibility to grow highly ordered arrays of TiO(2) nanotubes by a simple but optimized electrochemical anodization of a titanium metal sheet. This finding stimulated intense research activities that focused on growth, modification, properties, and applications of these one-dimensional nanostructures. This review attempts to cover all these aspects, including underlying principles and key functional features of TiO(2), in a comprehensive way and also indicates potential future directions of the field.

TiO2 nanotubes: synthesis and applications.

Self-organized hexagonal pore arrays with a 50–420 nm interpore distance in anodic alumina have been obtained by anodizing aluminum in oxalic, sulfuric, and phosphoric acid solutions. Hexagonally ordered pore arrays with distances as large as 420 nm were obtained under a constant anodic potential in phosphoric acid. By comparison of the ordered pore formation in the three types of electrolyte, it was found that the ordered pore arrays show a polycrystalline structure of a few micrometers in size. The interpore distance increases linearly with anodic potential, and the relationship obtained from disordered porous anodic alumina also fits for periodic pore arrangements. The best ordered periodic arrangements are observed when the volume expansion of the aluminum during oxidation is about 1.4 which is independent of the electrolyte. The formation mechanism of ordered arrays is consistent with a previously proposed mechanical stress model, i.e., the repulsive forces between neighboring pores at the metal/oxide interface promote the formation of hexagonally ordered pores during the oxidation process.

http://www-old.mpi-halle.mpg.de/mpi/publi/pdf/2438_98.pdf

Hexagonal pore arrays with a 50-420 nm interpore distance formed by self-organization in anodic alumina

The conditions for the self-organized formation of ordered hexagonal structures in anodic alumina were investigated for both oxalic and sulfuric acid as an electrolyte. Highly ordered pore arrays were obtained for oxidation in both acids. The size of the ordered domains depends strongly on the anodizing voltage. This effect is correlated with a voltage dependence of the volume expansion of the aluminum during oxidation and the current efficiency for oxide formation. The resulting mechanical stress at the metal/oxide interface is proposed to cause repulsive forces between the neighboring pores which promote the formation of ordered hexagonal pore arrays.

/pdf/self-organized-formation-of-hexagonal-pore-arrays-in-anodic-izy2ovbidd.pdf

Self-organized formation of hexagonal pore arrays in anodic alumina

Nanoporous anodic aluminium oxide has been widely used for the development of various functional nanostructures. So far these self-organized pore structures could only be prepared within narrow processing conditions. Here we report a new oxalic-acid-based anodization process for long-range ordered alumina membranes. This process is a new generation of the so-called "hard anodization" approach that has been widely used in industry for high-speed fabrication of mechanically robust, very thick (>100 microm) and low-porosity alumina films since the 1960s. This hard anodization approach establishes a new self-ordering regime with interpore distances, (D(int))=200-300 nm, which have not been achieved by mild anodization processes so far. It offers substantial advantages over conventional anodization processes in terms of processing time, allowing 2,500-3,500% faster oxide growth with improved ordering of the nanopores. Perfectly ordered alumina membranes with high aspect ratios (>1,000) of uniform nanopores with periodically modulated diameters have been realized.

/pdf/fast-fabrication-of-long-range-ordered-porous-alumina-1bigpxis0y.pdf

Fast fabrication of long-range ordered porous alumina membranes by hard anodization

The structural features of the porous type of anodic oxide coating applied to aluminum have been investigated with the electron microscope. These coatings consist of close‐packed cells of oxide, predominately hexagonal in shape, each of which contains a single pore. Pore size is a function of the electrolyte used and is independent of forming voltage. Wall thickness and barrier thickness are primarily a function of forming voltage and are affected to a minor degree by the electrolyte type. Pertinent dimensions of anodic coatings formed in sulfuric acid, oxalic acid, chromic acid, and phosphoric acid electrolytes are presented, and formulas are given for calculating the cell size and pore volume of these coatings.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1149/1.2781142/pdf

Structural Features of Oxide Coatings on Aluminum

http://jes.ecsdl.org/content/101/6/336.1.full.pdf

M. S. Hunter

Papers

Structural Features of Oxide Coatings on Aluminum

Closure to “Discussion of ‘Structural Features of Oxide Coatings on Aluminum’ [F. Keller, M. S. Hunter, and D. L. Robinson (pp. 411–419)]”