Fabrication of metal-oxide nano-composite films from aqueous solution by metal-oxide co-electrodeposition

Abstract Fe–Ce–O films were synthesized by a newly developed electrochemical method called the “metal-oxide co-electrodeposition method”, i.e. the simultaneous deposition of Fe and Ce–O from a reaction solution containing FeSO 4 , CeCl 3 , (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 , and l -ascorbic acid. l -ascorbic acid prevents the oxidation of Fe 2+ to Fe 3+ . (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 acts as the complexing agent for Fe 2+ and was effective in avoiding the precipitation of Fe–OH. Therefore, ferromagnetic Fe and Ce–O coexisted films were successfully formed. The Fe–Ce–O films prepared had a uniform surface. The Fe content in the deposited films was subject to change from 0 to 100 vol% depending on the concentration of the FeSO 4 in the reaction solution. The saturation magnetization of the films fabricated from the reaction solution with (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 became larger than that of the films prepared from a non-(NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 solution.