Stability of anodic aluminum oxide membranes with nanopores

The anodic aluminum oxide membranes (AAOMs) with nanopores, produced by electrochemical etching method in oxalic/sulphuric/phosphoric acid, were transformed from amorphous phase to crystalline phase by annealing. Differential thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction were performed for the phase transformation studies. Scanning electron microscopy studies show that the crystalline AAOMs keep the nanopore morphology and become very stable in the violent acid and violent alkali solutions. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.