Multilayered and alloyed Fe-Co and Fe-Ni nanowires physicochemical studies

Abstract

Anomalous deposition of multi-element nanowires continuously interests scientists to study such a system. In this paper, two types of magnetic nanowires were electrodeposited: multilayered and alloy-like. Fe-Co and Fe-Ni nanowires with various relative molar ratio were prepared by DC electrodeposition in aluminum oxide matrix, with a mean pore diameter of 140 ± 20 nm. The nanostructures were investigated in two states: released and within the matrix, using the following techniques: Scanning Electron Microscopy, Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Infrared, and Mössbauer spectroscopy. The Scanning Electron Microscopy showed that the length of Fe-(Co, Ni) nanowires is of the order of 3 µm and the diameter determined by the pores of the anodic aluminum oxide templates. The X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy also showed that the fabrication method allows for the obtainment of both multilayered as well as alloyed nanowires with tunable magnetic properties which depend on both the elements’ relative ratio and its ordering. The magnetic texture observed by Mössbauer measurements demonstrated the almost random distribution of magnetic moments of iron in the studied samples which are rather unusual in layered systems.