Porous anodic alumina membranes formed by anodization of AA1050 alloy as templates for fabrication of metallic nanowire arrays

The through-hole porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membranes were fabricated by a two-step anodization of the aluminum alloy (AA1050) in 0.3 M oxalic acid at 45 V and 20 °C followed by removal of Al and pore opening/widening procedures. The effect of duration of the second anodizing step on the porous oxide layer thickness and the influence of the pore opening time on structural features of as-prepared membranes were studied in detail. The prepared membranes with a thickness of about 60 μm were used as templates for fabrication of dense arrays of Ag, Au, and Sn nanowires with various aspect ratios by a DC electrochemical deposition process. The successful synthesis of metallic nanowires by simple DC electrodeposition of metals inside the pores of AAO templates fabricated from the AA1050 alloy was reported for the first time. The fabrication costs of nanowire arrays can be reduced by about 500 times when AAO templates, prepared from the AA1050 alloy, are used instead of those usually formed from expensive high purity Al.