Electrodeposition of Ordered Arrays of Multilayered Cu/Ni Nanowires by Dual Bath Technique

Abstract

Abstract An ordered multilayered Cu/Ni nanowires array was electrodeposited into the pores of an anodic aluminum oxide(AAO) template, with layer thickness in the range of 3–100 nm. To avoid codeposition of Cu in the Ni layers, two separate Ni and Cu baths were used. Scanning electronic microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the morphology of Cu/Ni multilayered nanowires array. The results showed that the layer thicknesses are quite uniform and the multilayered structure is clear and regular. The nanowire diameter is about 100 nm, which corresponds to the pore size of the used AAO template. Selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) result demonstrates that those multilayered wires exhibit single crystal structures. Hysteresis curves for multilayered Cu/Ni nanowires array with the AAO membrane support were tested using vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) at room temperature (293 K). It is found that the Cu/Ni nanowires arrays have strong perpendicular magnetic field anisotropy. When the magnetic field is perpendicular or parallel to the AAO template, the squareness ratio is 0.701 or 0.101, and the coercivity is 589 Oe or 202 Oe, respectively. The diameter and the layer thickness of Cu/Ni multilayered wires could be changed according to the demands by adjusting the technological parameters of anodization and electrodeposition.