Oxygen evolution and porous anodic alumina formation

A new formation mechanism of porous anodic alumina (PAA) is proposed, which emphasizes the close relationship between pore generation and oxygen evolution during aluminum anodization. Two special experiments were designed to confirm the formation mechanism: (1) to introduce a reducing agent in anodization for oxygen suppression, and (2) to perform anodization under a reduced pressure for easy oxygen release. The results showed that both reducing agent and atmospheric pressure had a great effect on the morphology of the resultant film. This can be expected on the basis of our hypothesis about the formation mechanism of PAA, but cannot be easily explained by the existing theories.