Electric Field Effect on Nanochannel Formation in Electrochemical Porous Structures of Alumina

The authors investigated the anodization mechanism of aluminum in an oxalic acid solution, and the electrochemical reaction is very unique for pore formation via the dissolution process, which is very dependent on the surface geometry in nanoporous alumina templates. The cross-sectional nanochannels showed that the geometrical curvature of the initial surface can cause the branching of nanochannels to be adjusted in volume occupancy to be direct to the electric field normal to the surface. The nanoporous alumina with the crystalline γ-Al₂O₃ phase showed hexagonal ordering at a voltage of 40 V, with a nanohole distance of 102 nm from the charge density oscillation of the oxalic acid solution.