Fast fabrication of self-ordered anodic porous alumina on oriented aluminum grains by high acid concentration and high temperature anodization

Anodic porous alumina, which exhibits a characteristic nanohoneycomb structure, has been used in a wide range of nanotechnology applications. The conventional fabrication method of mild anodization (MA) requires a prolonged anodization time which is impractical for batch processing, and self-ordered porous structures can only be formed within narrow processing windows so that the dimensions of the resultant structures are extremely limited. The alternative hard anodization (HA) may easily result in macroscopic defects on the alumina surface. In this work, by systematically varying the anodization conditions including the substrate grain orientation, electrolyte concentration, temperature, voltage, and time, a new oxalic acid based anodization method, called high acid concentration and high temperature anodization (HHA), is found, which can result in far better self-ordering of the porous structures at rates 7-26 times faster than MA, under a continuous voltage range of 30-60 V on (001) oriented Al grains. Unlike HA, no macroscopic defects appear under the optimum self-ordered conditions of HHA at 40 V, even for pore channels grown up to high aspect ratios of more than 3000. Compared to MA and HA, HHA provides more choices of self-ordered nano-porous structures with fast and mechanically stable formation features for practical applications.