Uniform porous anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane has been synthesized by two-step anodization for fabricating tungsten trioxide (WO 3 ) nanowires. Under assayed conditions, uniform porous structure of alumina (Al 2 O 3 ) membrane with long range ordered hexagonal arrangements of nanopores was achieved. The self-assembled template possesses pores of internal diameter of 50 nm and interpore distance (d int ) of 80 nm with a thickness of about 80 lm, i.e., used for fabrication of nanostructures. WO 3 nanowires have been fabricated by simple electroless deposition method inside Al 2 O 3 nanopores. SEM images show tungsten trioxide nanowire with internal diameter of about 50 nm, similar to porous diameter of AAO template. XRD results showed that nanowires exist in cubic crystalline state with minor proportion of monoclinic phase.

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) have received significant attention in last decade because of their unique properties. In this work, two different metal NPs have been prepared and their catalytic activities are compared with conventional catalyst. In first case, Ag NPs were synthesized by chemical reduction method in ethanolic medium. Synthesized Ag NPs were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) images which indicated an average particle size of Ag around 250 nm. The catalytic activity of Ag NPs was investigated for the oxidative mineralization of methylene blue dye. Comparative studies suggested that Ag NPs possess enhanced catalytic activity compared to bulk Ag. In second approach, supported Ni NPs were fabricated using Al2O3as supporting surface; that is, Ni NPs get adsorbed on Al2O3through in situ reduction reaction. Oxidative degradation of methylene blue indicated that catalytic activity of supported Ni/Al2O3is about five times higher than simple Ni as catalyst.