Effect of various de-anodizing techniques on the surface stability of non-colored and colored nanoporous AAO films in acidic solution

•Three de-anodization methods were used during two-step fabrication of nanoporous AAO.•Electrolytic etching (EE), chemical etching with H3PO4 (PE) or NaOH (HE) were adopted.•After the second anodizing step, HE film was the thinnest as compared to EE and HE.•Stability order of nanoporous AAO films in 0.5M HCl solution was: PE>EE>HE.•For the colored films by electrodeposited Cu atoms, the order was: HE>EE>PE. Anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) is well known as an important nanostructured material, and a useful template in the fabrication of nanostructures. Nanoporous anodic alumina (PAA) with high open porosity was prepared by adopting three de-anodizing regimes following the first anodizing step and preceding the second one. The de-anodizing methods include electrolytic etching (EE) and chemical etching using either phosphoric acid (PE) or sodium hydroxide (HE) solutions. Three of the obtained AAO samples were black colored by electrodeposition of copper nanoparticles in their pores. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and potentiodynamic polarization techniques were used to characterize the electrochemical performance of the two sets of the prepared samples. In general, the data obtained in aggressive aerated 0.5M HCl solution demonstrated dissimilar behavior for the three prepared samples despite that the second anodizing step was the same for all of them. The data indicated that the resistance and thickness of the inner barrier part of nano-PAA film, are the main controlling factors determining its stability. On the other hand, coloring the film decreased its stability due to the galvanic effect. The difference in the electrochemical behavior of the three colored samples was discussed based on the difference in both the pore size and thickness of the outer porous part of PAA film as supported by SEM, TEM and cross-sectional micrographs. These results can thus contribute for better engineering applications of nanoporous AAO.