Fabrication and Characterization of Metal and Metal Oxide Nanostructures Grown by Metal Displacement Deposition into Anodic Alumina Membranes

Displacement deposition reactions were used to fabricate metal and metal oxide nanostructures inside the channels of alumina template. This type of template synthesis is based on the galvanic contact between a sputtered metal film, covering the bottom of the template, and a less noble metal, partially exposed to the solution. The deposition can be carried out at room temperature without using energy or specific equipments. Consequently, the present route for the preparation of nanostructures is cheap and simple, and it can also be applied to the synthesis of a wide range of different materials.