Petal-Like Morphology on the Surface of Porous Anodic Alumina

Abstract

The formation process of a petal-like morphology on the surface of porous anodic alumina (PAA) is discussed in detail. During the anodizing process, the electronic current is produced within the growing oxide, which results in the oxygen evolution at the pore bottom. The pressure of the oxygen bubbles increases along with the anodizing process, and their high pressure acts as a driving-force of the micro-gas-flow, resulting in the micro-liquid-flow in the pores of PAA. The micro-liquid-flow can flow into each other between a center pore and the nearest neighboring pores. The nanogroove between two pores can be formed due to the dissolving effect during the process of micro-liquid-flow between the two pores. This leads to the formation of the petal-like morphology on the PAA surface. As the micro-liquid-flow leaves off the pore bottom, there a local vacuum is formed. This local vacuum behaves as a driving-force of the micro-liquid-flow, making the electrolyte renovated in the nanopores. The renovated electrolyte can provide enough anions or impurity centers, which are the cause of the generation of the electronic current. The self-organizing for the petal-like morphology on PAA surface is mainly dependent upon the high pressure of the oxygen bubbles and the local vacuum produced at the pore bottom. The present results may help us to understand the nature of the self-organization in the porous anodic oxides.