The influence of electrodeposition potential on the chemical composition, structure and magnetic properties of FeCoNi nanowires

FeCoNi alloyed nanowires with diameters of 40 nm and 100 nm and a length of 6 µm were electrodeposited in the polycarbonate membranes at constant cathodic potentials ranging from −1.0 to −1.8 V. The increase in cathodic potential caused an increase in Ni content with a simultaneous decrease in Fe and Co concentrations. The samples showed an fcc structure (with a small hcp fraction observed in one sample) with a preferred growth along [111] direction, which changed to a [220] texture at higher deposition potentials. With the increase in Ni content, a shortening of the lattice parameters and an increase in the crystallite size were observed. Various chemical compositions resulted in the modification of the magnetic properties of nanowires. The magnetization saturation value increased with increasing cathodic potential for both types of nanowires. However, coercivity and squareness rose for samples with a diameter of 40 nm and fell down for 100 nm diameter nanowires. This specific behavior was explained based on dipolar interactions, which can be neglected in 40 nm diameter nanowires, due to the low membrane porosity.