Synthesis and Structural Characterization of Cobalt Nanostructures in AAO Membranes

Metallic nanostructures have attracted the interest of researchers due to their fundamental importance and potential applications in nanodevices, sensors and catalysts. Co-AAO nanocomposites were obtained by using a sol-gel method that uses ultrasonic vibrations to induce the penetration of a colloidal solution through the pores of an anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) template. The AAO template, with the sol into its pores, was annealed at 648 K. The entire dip-anneal-dip'process was repeated three times. Finally, the metal nanostructures were formed by further annealing at 873 K in hydrogen atmosphere for 1 h. The morphology and structure of Co-AAO were investigated by using SEM, HRTEM, XRD and EPR methods.