Fabrication and transfer of nanoporous alumina thin films for templating applications: Metal dots array deposition and porous ZnO film growth

An approach to fabricate nanoporous alumina thin films on aluminum foils followed by their transfer to desired substrates via chemical lift-off and Van der Waals bonding is presented. By employing a black wax technique, we demonstrate a crack free (within the area of 2 × 2 cm2) lift-off and bonding of a nanoporous alumina film with thickness of as small as ~ 300 nm onto a substrate. The liftoff-and-bonding process changes neither the morphology nor the structure of the nanopores in the alumina film. Templating applications of the bonded alumina thin films are demonstrated and discussed. The results reveal that the alumina nanopores, combined with the liftoff-and-bonding technique, have great potential for templating applications in both nano-sized dots array deposition and functional materials growth.