Overview & Mission

Self-organised nanostructuring using template synthesis is a very promising and rapidly expanding field for the preparation of different nanostructures and templates ranging from the micrometer to the 10 nm-range. One appealing branch of self-organisation is based on anodisation methods, deeply interfacing with physical-chemistry. This technique is very versatile since the pore size, pore density and height can be readily controlled by the electrolyte species, anodising temperature, voltage and time. The templates are well suited for the subsequent preparation of many ordered nanostructures using different deposition methods.

IFIMUP works in the fabrication process of nanoporous membranes and nanotubes of Al, Ti, Hf and Fe oxides using different electrolyte. These allow obtaining ordered arrays of hexagonal pore structures with interpore distances and pore diameters ranging from 50 to 500 nm and 10 to 150 nm, respectively. IFIMUP also have the necessesary facilities to fill the these nanoporous estructures with perovskites and silica nanotubes by sol-gel template methods; nanowires and segmented nanowires by electrodeposition and anti-dots by ion beam Deposition.

Three applications of these membranes are ongoing:

• Biotechnological

• Plasmonics

• Photoelectrochemical solar cells and Dye-synthetized cells

• Spintronics - metal-insulator-metal memristors

The Bottom-up Nanofabrication Laboratory is a Laboratory of the Research Group:

Multifunctional Magnetic Materials and Nanostructures

(Group Leader: João Pedro Esteves de Araújo: jearaujo@fc.up.pt)

Contact Person:

Célia Tavares de Sousa

email: celiasousa@fc.up.pt