Topographical studies of nanoscale secondary structure of electrochemical anodized aluminum surface

An electrochemical anodization technique associated with wet surface cleansing processes was applied for fabrication of surface nanoscale structures on Al plates. Dynamic force microscopy (DFM) measurements clarifies that different wet cleansing processes create different initial surface structures on Al such as a linked-crater pattern and a groove pattern on Al surfaces and induce finer and well-ordered characteristic surface nanoscale patterns. Based on those structures, anodization proceeds in the fabrication of well-ordered characteristic nanoscale patterns with quite unique secondary structures on Al surface. One is a crater-array structure with small pores in each crater. The other is a hut-shaped structure with a well-oriented line structure in each hut structure. Further anodization assists in fabrication of more ordered finer nanoscale structures such as well-oriented row-aligned pattern and a well-defined lattice pattern. Deposition of copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) molecules on anodized crater-arrayed Al surface is conducted by casting CuPc resolved toluene. DFM and x-ray photoemission spectroscopy measurements clarify that an organic-inorganic nanoscale patterned material is fabricated.