Columnar niobium oxide nanostructures: mechanism of formation, microstructure, and electrophysical properties

The morphology and microstructure of columnar niobium oxide nanostructures are studied and the dependences of their morphological sizes on anodizing voltages (100–450 V) and anodic alumina pore diameters (40–150 nm) are established. The features of ion transport during local anodization of niobium are studied and the transport numbers of electrolyte anions and niobium cations are calculated; a mechanism of formation and growth is proposed and the phase composition and electrophysical properties of columnar nanostructures are studied.