In this study, Flake-like magnesium hydroxide (Mg(OH)2) and cubic-like aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)3) nanostructures were synthesized via a simple co-precipitation method at relatively low temperature. Chemical properties and surface morphology of the magnesium hydroxide and aluminum hydroxide were characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), scanning electron microscopy image (SEM), transm...

This article presents 3-D aluminum micro-nanostructures for enhanced light absorption. Periodic microhole arrays were created by firing a train of femtosecond laser pulses at megahertz pulse frequency onto the surface of an aluminum target at ambient conditions. The laser trains ablated the target surface and created microholes leading to the generation of deposited nanostructures inside and ar...

We propose two approaches-hot-embossing and dielectric-heating nanoimprinting methods-for low-cost and rapid fabrication of periodic nanostructures. Each nanofabrication process for the imprinted plastic nanostructures is completed within several seconds without the use of release agents and epoxy. Low-cost, large-area, and highly sensitive aluminum nanostructures on A4 size plastic films are f...

Electrodeposited aluminum films and template-synthesized aluminum nanorods are examined as negative electrodes for lithium-ion batteries. The lithium-aluminum alloying reaction is observed electrochemically with cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic cycling in lithium half-cells. The electrodeposition reaction is shown to have high faradaic efficiency, and electrodeposited aluminum films reach t...

We study the Rayleigh instability of polystyrene (PS) thin films coated in the nanopores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates. After thermal annealing, the surface of the PS thin films undulates and the nanostructures transform from nanotubes to Rayleigh-instability-induced nanostructures (short nanorods with encapsulated air bubbles). With longer annealing times, the nanostructures further...

Alumina nanostructures, nanowires, and semicolumn nanotubes with high aspect ratios were synthesized by the chemical etching of porous alumina membranes (PAMs) in phosphoric acid solution. The morphology and structure of alumina nanostructures were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectrum (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD), respectively. The results showed that...

Metallic nanostructure-based surface plasmon sensors are capable of real-time, label-free, and multiplexed detections for chemical and biomedical applications. Recently, the studies of aluminum-based biosensors have attracted a large attention because aluminum is a more cost-effective metal and relatively stable. However, the intrinsic properties of aluminum, having a large imaginary part of th...

This article is an introduction to anodization of aluminum, which is a subject of electrochemistry. Anodization of aluminum under a controlled electrochemical condition yields ordered porous alumina with a close-packed hexagonal array of cylindrical nanochannels. The diameter, density, and aspect ratio of pores can be tightly controlled by varying the anodization condition, which makes the poro...

Using thermal evaporation, we fabricated five uniform and regular arrays of Ag nanostructures with different shapes that were based on an anodized aluminum oxide template and analyzed their optical properties. Round-top-shaped structures are obtained readily, whereas to obtain needle-on-round-top-shaped and needle-shaped structures, control of the directionality of evaporation, pore size, lengt...