Coupled electrodeposition and magnetic properties of ternary CoFeW alloys

Abstract

The iron (Fe) cobalt (Co) tungsten (W) alloys exhibit unique combinations of mechanical and soft magnetic properties, good corrosion and wear resistance, and biocompatibility, which makes them desirable candidate for numerous practical applications. A nano-porous alumina template with electrodeposited FeCoW alloy nanowires (NWs) is a polycrystalline material with the grain size was about ~1 − 3 nm. Here, we first time report the composition dependent structural, and magnetic properties of FeCoW NWs embedded in ~25 nm anodic alumina (AAO) template by electrodeposition. By keeping the W concentration same, and decreasing the concentration of Co2+ and Fe2+ ions in the solution, 2–3% to 8–9% W content was increased. The EDX and XPS analysis confirms the co-deposition of W ions along with Fe and Co ions. The magnetization curves showed that 2–3% At. % of W in CoFe NWs significantly increases the saturation magnetization of NWs. Therefore, FeCoW alloy with low W content could be targeted for the design of recording components and shape memory devices in future. Deposition potential also has a notable effect on the final composition, structure and magnetic properties of NWs.