Sustainable Synthesis of Niobia Thin Films with Open Mesopore Channels

The current approaches to electrochemically synthesizing valve metal derived nanochannel films with longitudinal nanospaces aligned at a right angle to planar substrates rely on highly toxic fluoride compounds and require severe reaction conditions. Herein, we report on a fluoride-free, room-temperature, electrochemical synthesis Of a genuine mesoporous niobia thin filth from the parent metal. The electrochemical reaction is driven by only a 1 V bias with respect to a Pt counter electrode in at aqueous solution. The solution contained an inexpensive, less toxic potassium hydroxide, and the reaction produced favorable byproducts, namely, recyclable K8Nb6O19 and H-2.