Graduation Year
2005
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
M.S.Ch.E.
Degree Granting Department
Chemical Engineering
Major Professor
Venkat R Bhethanabotla, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Babu Joseph, Ph.D.
Committee Member
Vinay Gupta, Ph.D.
Keywords
Electrodeposition, Anodization, Pore ordering, Pore nucleation, Potentiostat
Abstract
Nanostructured materials have potential technological applications due to their characteristic dimensions. The material performance will depend on the atomic structure, and composition of these materials. This thesis focuses on proposing a reliable method for fabricating nanoporous alumina and palladium nanoparticles inside the templates. Palladium nanoparticles were synthesized in commercial porous alumina templates using electrodeposition. Pores within these nanoporous membranes act as templates for the synthesis of nanostructures of the desired material. Electrodeposition is achieved using a three-terminal set-up and a potentiostat. Different types of deposition techniques were investigated to improve the distribution of the deposit. The nanoparticles were characterized by SEM/EDX for composition. The commercial templates have high aspect ratio, but are not hexagonally ordered. Hence porous alumina was fabricated in the laboratory by anodization of aluminum. A two-step anodization process was employed to fabricate the nanoporous alumina. The pore formation, influence of the experimental conditions on the pore formation, the structural characteristics of the pore and the oxide chemical reactions involved in the pore growth were discussed.
Scholar Commons Citation
Chennapragada, Pavani, "Fabrication of Palladium Nanoparticles and Nanoporous Alumina Templates" (2005). USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/2821
