Nanotube Arrays in Porous Anodic Alumina Membranes

This review summarizes the various techniques developed for fabricating nanotube arrays in porous anodic alumina membranes （AAMs）. After a brief introduction to the fabrication process of AAMs, taking carbons, metals, semiconductors, organics, biomoleculars, and heterojunctions as typical examples, attention will be focused on the recently established methods to fabricate nanotubes in AAM, including electrochemical deposition, surface sol-gel, modified chemical vapor deposition, atomic layer deposition, and layer-by-layer growth. Every method is demonstrated by one or two reported results. Finally, this review is concluded with some perspectives on the research directions and focuses on the AAM-based nanotubes fields.

Spectroscopic Study of a Radio-Frequency Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge with Anodic Alumina as the Dielectric

This paper presents the fabrication and a spectroscopic study of a stable radio- frequency dielectric barrier discharge （RF DBD） in Ar with a novel dielectric, anodic alumina, at atmospheric pressure. Dielectric electrodes are fabricated from commercially available low cost impure aluminum strips by a two-step anodization process in 0.3 M solution of oxalic acid. The discharge is found to be stable with excellent spatial uniformity for the RF input power range of 30～80 W. Excitation and rotational temperatures measured in the experiment range of 1472～3255 K and 434～484 K, respectively, as the input power changes from 30 W to 80 W. These temperature ranges are suitable for surface modification applications.

Structure and Magnetic Properties of Ni Nanowires Array Fabricated by Direct Current Electro-deposition in Anodic Alumina Membrane

Ordered nanostructure arrays of Ni-Al 2O 3 were synthesized by direct current electro-deposition in anodic alumina membranes (AAM). The investigation with a n electron microscope,an X-ray diffractmeter and a vibration sample magnetomete r indicates that the Ni nanowires, growing in the pores of AAM with about 45nm i n diameter, are monocrystalline and have a definite preferred crystallizing orie ntation. The magnetic behavior of the arrays and their mechanism were discussed.

Highly Ordered Carbon Nanotube Arrays with Open Ends Grown in Anodic Alumina Nanoholes

Highly ordered multiwalled carbon nanotube arrays were fabricated by pyrolysis of acetylene within anodic alumina templates.Nanotubes are very uniform in diameter and open at both ends. High resolution transmission electron microscopy and electron diffraction analysis show that the carbon nanotubes are well graphitized. These standing and open carbon nanotubes are possible to offer a potential elegant technique for electron emitting devices,chemical functionalization and nanotube composites.

A vivid Au-porous anodic alumina composite film with the inverted taper structure for label-free detection

Localized surface plasmon resonance(LSPR)has been widely used in medical detection because of its time effectiveness,noninvasiveness,high sensitivity,and relatively simple fabrication process.Porous anodic alumina(PAA)can be regarded as a plasma substrate for label-free detection due to its unique two-dimensional structure.In this work,a vivid Au-PAA composite film with the inverted taper structure was developed by multi-step anodic oxidation and pore-widening processes followed by magnetron sputtering with Au nanoparticles(AuNPs).The highly saturated and bright structural color was generated by the synergistic effect of photonic and plasmonic modes.Interestingly,various Au-PAA composite films with structural colors altering from purple to red were obtained via adjusting the height/diameter ratio of PAA.Benefiting from the inverted taper structure,light trap characteristics were effectively enhanced by increasing the incident light and reducing the diffuse light.In addition,a finite difference time domain(FDTD)model was proposed to predict the relationship between the reflectance peak and the height of the composite film,and the simulated data were in good agreement with the experimental results.As a proof of concept,labelfree detections of various reagents(water,ethanol,glycol,glycerol,and glucose),the concentration of glucose(refractive index sensitivity of 376 nm/RIU,RIU:refractive index unit),and thrombin(detection limit of 0.1×10^(-7)mol/L)were realized by the Au-PAA composite film.This vivid Au-PAA composite film provides a very powerful tool for in-situ label-free bio-detection.

Polarization properties of porous anodic alumina with Y-branched Cu nanowires

Porous anodic alumina （PAA） templates with branch structure are fabricated by the two-step anodic oxidation processes, and then the Y-branched Cu nanowires are synthesized in the templates using an alternating current （AC） deposition method. We observe the morphology image of the samples by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and measure the transmission spectrum and the polarization spectrum of the samples by the spectrophotometer. The results show that PAA films with Y-branched Cu nanowires have better transmittance in the near infrared region. An extinction ratio of 15 - 18 dB and an insertion loss of 0.1 - 0.4 dB are obtained in this region. Therefore PAA with Y-branched Cu nanowires can be used as a near-infrared micropolarizer, and this kind of micropolarizer would have a promising future in the field of photoelectricity integration.

Anodic Alumina Photonic Crystals as Refractive Index Sensors for Controlling the Composition of Liquid Mixtures

Photonic crystals based on anodic aluminum oxide films are examined as refractive index sensors for controlling the composition of water-alcohol liquid mixtures.The position of the reflectance maximum corresponding to the first photonic stop band is used as the analytical signal.Impregnation of a photonic crystal with water-ethanol and water-glycerol mixtures results in a redshift of the reflectance maximum.A fairly high refractive index sensitivity,sufficient to determine the composition of water-ethanol and water-glycerol mixtures with an accuracy of about 1 wt.%,is observed.The detailed dependencies of the analytical signal on the composition of mixtures are experimentally investigated and compared with numerical calculations.Prospects and limitations of the refractive index sensors based on anodic alumina photonic crystals are discussed.

A novel approach to large-scale formation of through-hole porous anodic aluminum template

A novel anodic oxidization equipment was designed to fabricate a large number of porous anodic alumina （PAA） templates in one time. This approach improved the efficiency of the preparation of the PAA templates remarkably in a normal lab and is expected to be used for the large-scale production in the future.

Fabrication and characterization of highly ordered Ni_(0.5)Zn_(0.5)Fe_2O_4 nanowire/tube arrays by sol-gel template method

Highly ordered nanowire/tube arrays of Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4were fabricated by the sol-gel method in the pores of anodic alumina membrane （AAM）. Whether nanowires or nanotubes were fabricated depends on immersion time. The immersion time was 15- 40 s for nanotubes and over 60 s for nanowires. The topography and crystalline structure of the nanowire arrays were characterized by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, transmission electron microscopy （TEM）, and X-ray diffraction （XRD）. It was found that the length and diameter of the Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanowires are related to the thickness of the AAM and the diameter of the pores. The results indicated that the Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanowires are uniform and parallel to each other.

Preparation and characterization of highly ordered NiO nanowire arrays by sol-gel template method

Highly ordered nickel monoxide （NiO） nanowire arrays were fabricated by sol-gel synthesis within the pores of anodic alumina membrane （AAM）. Scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, high resolution transmission electron microscopy （HRTEM） and X-ray diffraction （XRD） were used to characterize the topography and crystalloid structure of NiO nanowire arrays. The length and diameter of the NiO nanowires depended on the thickness of the AAM and the diameter of the pores. The results indicated that the NiO nanowires were uniformly assembled into the ordered nanopores of the AAM and paralleled to each other. Nickel monoxide nanotubes were also fabricated with the same method by changing the immersing time. This new method to prepare NiO nanowire arrays may be important from gas sensors to various engineering materials.

Preparation and Optical Properties of V_2O_5 Nanotube Arrays

V2 O5 nanotube arrays in porous atomic alumina （ PAA ） template were obtained from V2O5 sols prepared by melt quenching method. X-ray powder diffraction and selected area electron diffraction investigations demonstrate that V2O5 nanotubes are orthorhombic. Results by scanning electron mieroscopy and transmission electron microscopy results shove that V2O5 nanotubes with a uniform diameter form highly ordered arrays. The diameter and length of the nanotubes depend on the pore diameter and the thickness of the PAA template used. It is proved that the sol-gel template process is a cost-saving , simple and readily-controlled method to prepare metal oxides nanomaterials .Owing to the quantum size effect. the optical absorption edge of V2O5 nanotubes in PAA ehibits a significant blue shift with respect to that of bulk V2O5.

Si nanopillar arrays with nanocrystals produced by template-induced growth at room temperature

Well-aligned and closely-packed silicon nanopillar （SNP） arrays are fabricated by using a simple method with magnetron sputtering of Si on a porous anodic alumina （PAA） template at room temperature. The SNPs are formed by selective growth on the top of the PAA pore walls. The growth mechanism analysis indicates that the structure of the SNPs can be modulated by the pore spacing of the PAA and the sputtering process and is independent of the wall width of the PAA. Moreover, nanocrystals are identified by using transmission electron microscopy in the as-deposited SNP samples, which are related to the heat isolation structure of the SNPs. The Raman focus depth profile reveals a high crystallization ratio on the surface.

POROUS MEMBRANE TEMPLATED SYNTHESIS OF POLYMER PILLARED LAYER

The anodic porous alumina membranes with a definite pore diameter and aspect ratio were used as templates tosynthesize polymer pillared layer structures. The pillared polymer was produced in the template membrane pores, and thelayer on the template surfaces. Rigid cured epoxy resin, polystyrene and soft hydrogel were chosen to confirm themethodology. The pillars were in the form of either tubes or fibers, which were controlled by the alumina membrane pore surface wettability. The structural features were confirmed by scanning electron microscopy results.

Electrical characterization of poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) nanocrystals embedded in porous alumina matrix

In this work,the study of dielectric properties of composite structures on the base of poly(vinylidene fluoride-triflouroethylene)copolymer P(VDF-TrFE)and porous aluminum oxide layers produced by the melt-impregnation is presented.Frequency dependences of dielectric characteristics of the composite samples were determined.The dielectric dispersion and ferroelectric switching processes in the composite structures were discussed.