Template-directed formation of functional complex metal-oxide nanostructures by combination of sol-gel processing and spin coating

We report the template-based formation of functional complex metal-oxide nanostructures by a combination of sol-gel processing and spin coating. This method employs the spin-coating of a sol-gel solution into an anodic aluminum oxide membrane (SSAM). Various metal-oxide nanowires and nanotubes with a high aspect-ratio were prepared. The aspect-ratios of the PbO2 nanowires and Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3 nanowires were about 300 and 400, respectively, and their diameters were about 50 nm. The fabricated PbTiO3 nanotubes have a relatively constant wall thickness of about 20 nm with an outer diameter of about 60 nm. The deposition time for all of the fabricated metal-oxide nanowires and nanotubes is less than 120 s, which is far shorter than those required in both the sol-gel dipping and sol-gel electrophoretic methods. These results indicate that the SSAM method can be a versatile pathway to prepare functional complex metal-oxide nanowires and nanotubes with a high aspect-ratio. The possible formation process for the one-dimensional nanostructures by SSAM is discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.