Nanoporous structures play a promising role in the development of nanomechanical,
nanoelectrical and biosensing devices. Recently,
the
voltage
-
driven transport of polynucleic
acids (e.g. DNA, RNA) across synthetic inorganic nanopores has
been investigated as a step
towards the development of nanoscale biosensing devices. In addition, nanopores are expected to
be utilized as chemical and gas sensors. TiO
2
is a semiconductor material
which can have a wide
range of applications in nanopore
-
b
ased sensors. In this study, TiO
2
nanopores were prepared by
electrochemical anodization. Titanium was used as the anode, while platinum was used as the
cathode in an electrochemical cell filled with a hydrofluoric acid electrolyte solution.
During the
pr
eparation process, titanium was converted to its oxide form. Nanostructures
were
synthesized
under varying physical conditions, including HF concentrations of 0.5
-
10% and anodization
times of 5
-
30 minutes.
The resulting nanopore structure
s were
characteri
zed by scanning electron
microscopy (SEM).
The results show that the dimensions and morphology of the nanopores can
be controlled by alteration of the anodization conditions.