Spontaneous Current Oscillations during Hard Anodization of Aluminum under Potentiostatic Conditions

Abstract Nanoporous anodic aluminum oxide is prepared by hard anodization of aluminum under potentiostatic conditions using 0.3 M H 2 C 2 O 4 . Under unstirred electrolyte condition, spontaneous current oscillations are observed. The amplitude and period of these current oscillations are observed to increase with anodization time. As a consequence of the oscillatory behavior, the resulting anodic alumina exhibits modulated pore structures, in which the diameter contrast and the length of pore modulation increase with the amplitude and the period of current oscillations, respectively, and the current peak profile determines the internal geometry of oxide nanopores. The mechanism responsible for the oscillatory behavior is suggested to be a diffusion‐controlled anodic oxidation of aluminum.