Morphology of Platinum Nanowire Array Electrodeposited Within Anodic Aluminum Oxide Template Characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy

Uniform platinum nanowires were synthesized by electrodepositing the platinum under a very low altering current frequency (20 Hz) and increasing voltage (5-15 V) in the pores of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. Atomic force microscopy observation indicates that the template membranes we obtained have hexagonally close-packed nanochannels. The platinum nanowires have highly ordered arrays after partially dissolving the aluminum oxide membrane. With the increasing dissolving time, the platinum nanowire array collapsed. A concave topography of the aluminum substrate was observed after the aluminum oxide membrane was dissolved completely and the platinum nanowires were released from the template. Platinum nanowires were also characterized by transmission electron microscopy and the phase structure of the Al/AAO/Pt composite was proven by x-ray diffraction.