This letter proposes and experimentally demonstrates that oxygen, through action as a surfactant, enables the growth of aluminum nanorods using physical vapor deposition. Based on the mechanism through which oxygen acts, the authors show that the diameter of aluminum nanorods can be controlled from 50 to 500 nm by varying the amount of oxygen present, through modulating the vacuum level, and by...

Cathodic activation examined with reference to the cold fuslon developments (controversy). Historically cathodic activation has been used for plating preparation of p a s s i v e (o x i d e) s u r f a c e s e.g. nickel/chromium alloys, niobium and powdered metals. More recent results of work employing cathodic activation for preparing aluminum for plating will be presented e.g. process paramete...

In this work, a tracer study on pore initiation in anodic alumina in oxalic acid was performed. Effects of some experimental parameters such as applied electrical potential, electrolyte composition and heat pretreatment were evaluated. Electrochemical and morphological experiments were performed using potentiostatic anodizing and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, respectively. Effe...

Spectroscopic investigations reveal the presence of a fast quenching process in erbium-doped aluminum oxide waveguides. We quantify the percentage of quenched ions and make predictions about the amplifier performance. Optical amplifiers; integrated optics materials; fast quenching processes; aluminum oxide

There are a number of ways to improve the corrosion and abrasion resistance of metals, including alloying, anodizing, nitriding and application of protective thin films. Alloying involves generating a binary phase diagram to determine the optimum composition and temperature dependence. For example, copper alloys known as “bronzes” offer high strength, abrasion resistance and high temperature co...

THE ANODIZING PROCESS OF ALUMINUM AND ITS ALLOYS: A HISTORICAL ELECTROCHEMICAL APPROACH. Al and its alloys are found in several industrial applications. However, like most metals, this material is not immune to corrosion, being necessary be protected against corrosion. One of the methods commonly employed improve corrosion resistance anodizing process, which consists thickening natural oxide (A...

Aluminum nanoparticles have increasingly gained attention because of their potential incorporation in explosive and propellant mixtures. This letter reports on a qualitative study on the oxidation of aluminum nanoparticles containing a passivating oxide coating. Hot-stage transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies were performed to understand the stability of the oxide coating in nanoalumin...