Fabrication and characterization of CdS nanotube arrays in porous anodic aluminum oxide templates

Semiconductor CdS nanotube arrays were synthesized within the pores of the PAO membranes by using molecular anchor templating synthesis method. The CdS nanotube arrays obtained were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffractomemter (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopic analyzer (EDS), respectively. The formation mechanism of CdS nanotube was also discussed. This is the first report on the highly ordered CdS nanotube arrays with 60 μm in length and 100 nm in outer diameter. The present method shows the advantages of simplicity, high efficiency and low cost.