Structural and wetting properties of porous anodic alumina templates prepared by different electrolytes

Abstract

Porous anodic alumina (PAA) has been extensively studied in recent years due to their unique properties and applications for manufacturing nanostructured materials. In this article, we report our studies on structural and wetting properties of PAA membranes prepared using different electrolytes such as sulphuric, oxalic and phosphoric acids. The morphological parameters such as pore diameter and porosity were measured using SEM and analysed using image-J software. The structural investigation of PAA membranes was carried out through X-ray diffraction analysis and it was confirmed that PAA membranes were amorphous in nature. The wetting behaviour of PAA membranes were measured using contact angle measurement technique. The results show that PAA membranes were hydrophilic in nature with contact angles 26.03�, 35.21� and 42.0� for sulphuric, oxalic and phosphoric acids respectively. � 2016 Author(s).