AC anodization of aluminum, electrodeposition of nickel and optical property examination

Commercial grade aluminum was anodized to form porous anodic films using alternating current at a voltage of 15 V and a temperature of 25°C. The AC anodization was implemented in phosphoric acid and in an electrolyte modified by dissolving 1.1 g/l iron powder. The presence of iron species in the modified electrolyte did not make iron to be incorporated in the film and appeared not to change the pore diameter, but doubled the film thickness. Electrodeposition of nickel was carried out to pigment the films. Pores of the films produced in the modified electrolyte were also found more accessible for nickel pigmentation. Reflectance spectrum of a nickel-pigmented film produced in the modified electrolyte was measured, and its solar absorptance and thermal emittance were calculated. It has been shown that AC anodization of aluminum in phosphoric acid modified by a small number of intentionally added species such as iron species, followed by electrodeposition of nickel, has potential in developing a method for cheaply preparing selective solar absorbing surface of nickel-pigmented anodic films of aluminum.