Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) has been widely used for the development and fabrication of nano-powder with various morphologies such as particle, wire, rod, and tube. So far, many researchers have reported about shape control and fabrication of AAO films. However, they have reported on the shape control with different diameter and length of anodic aluminum oxide mainly. We present a combined mild-hard (or hard-mild) anodization to prepare shape-controlled AAO films. Two main parameters which are combination mild-hard (or hard-mild) anodization and run-time of voltage control are applied in this work. The voltages of mild and hard anodization are respectively 40 and 80 V. Anodization was conducted on the aluminum sheet in 0.3 mole oxalic acid at 4oC. AAO films with morphologies of varying interpore distance, branch-shaped pore, diameter-modulated pore and long funnel-shaped pore were fabricated. Those shapes will be able to apply to fabricate novel nano-materials with potential application which is especially a support to prevent volume expansion of inserted active materials, such as metal silicon or tin powder, in lithium ion battery. The silicon powder electrode using an AAO as a support shows outstanding cycle performance as 1003 mAh/g up to 200 cycles.

The Electrocoagulation-Flotation (ECF) process has great potential in wastewater treatment. ECF technology is effective in the removal of colloidal particles, oil-water emulsion, organic pollutants such as microalgae, and heavy metals. Numerous studies have been conducted on ECF; however, many of them used a conventional plate-type aluminum anode. In this study, we determined the effect of changing operational parameters such as power supply time, applied current, NaCl concentration, and pH on the turbidity removal efficiency of kaoline. We also determined the effects of different electrolyte types (NaCl, MgSO4, CaCl2, Na2SO4, and tap water), as well as the differences caused by using a plate-type and mesh-type aluminum anode, on the turbidity removal efficiency. The results showed that the optimal values of ECF time, applied current, NaCl concentration, and pH were 5 min, 0.35 A, 0.4 g/L NaCl in distilled water, and pH 7, respectively. The results also revealed that the turbidity removal efficiency of kaoline in different electrolytes decreased in the following sequence, given the same conductivity: tap water > CaCl2 > MgSO4 > NaCl > Na2SO4. The turbidity removal efficiency of the mesh-type aluminum anode was significantly greater than the plate-type aluminum anode.

Generally, metal working fluids (MWFs) are used to reduce friction in metalworking processes. In addition to mineral oils, MWFs contain many chemical substances, such as anticorrosive agents, extreme-pressure additives, and stabilizers, as well as high concentrations of organics and ammonia nitrogen. Accordingly, MWFs must be managed to advanced treatment for hydro-ecological conservation. This study investigated the removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen from MWFs according to operating time, applied voltage, distance between electrodes, and NaCl concentration using aluminum in a batch-type reactor. The experimental results were as follows: First, without NaCl, removal efficiencies of ammonia nitrogen were 69.6%, 37.9%, and 22.7%, when the distance between electrodes was adjusted to 1, 4, and 7 cm, respectively, at 15 V for 60 min. Secondly, without NaCl, removal efficiencies of ammonia nitrogen were 49.5 and 90.9% when the voltage was adjusted to 5 V and 10 V, respectively, for 60 min and 94.6% at 15 V for 40 min. Lastly, with the addition of NaCl 10 mM, the removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen was 40.3% and 11.5% greater than that of no addition of NaCl at 5 V for 60 min and at 10 V for 30 min.