A growth mechanism of porous film formed on Al in 0.6 M oxalic acid electrolyte.

: Understanding of mechanism of porous film formation is of fundamental importance for anodizing in general because, the onset of pore initiation terminates the barrier film growth process over the macroscopic metal surface. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain pore formation. They include direct injection of aluminum ions into electrolyte and a field-assisted dissolution mechanism. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy of anodized surfaces and direct TEM of ion beam thinned films and ultrarmicrotomed film sections have been employed to gain further insight into the mechanism of initial porous film growth in 0.6 M oxalic acid. From detailed examination of the behavior of the xenon-tagged layer in the film during pore initiation and development in oxalic acid, the film structure of the barrier layer is found to be unstable during pore initiation and the instability of the film structure is possibly related to the field-assisted structure modification process.