Surface modification of Ni and Co metal nanowires through MeV high energy ion irradiation

Abstract Nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) metal nanowires were fabricated by using an electrochemical deposition method based on an anodic alumina oxide (Al 2 O 3 ) nanoporous template. The electrolyte consisted of NiSO 4 · 6H 2 O and H 3 BO 3 in distilled water for the fabrication of Ni nanowires, and of CoSO 4 · 7H 2 O with H 3 BO 3 in distilled water for the fabrication of the Co ones. From SEM and TEM images, the diameter and length of both the Ni and Co nanowires were measured to be ∼ 200 nm and 5–10 μm, respectively. We observed the oxidation layers in nanometer scale on the surface of the Ni and Co nanowires through HR–TEM images. The 3 MeV Cl 2+ ions were irradiated onto the Ni and Co nanowires with a dose of 1 × 10 15 ions/cm 2 . The surface morphologies of the pristine and the 3 MeV Cl 2+ ion-irradiated Ni and Co nanowires were compared by means of SEM, AFM, and HR–TEM experiments. The atomic concentrations of the pristine and the 3 MeV Cl 2+ ion-irradiated Ni and Co nanowires were investigated through XPS experiments. From the results of the HR–TEM and XPS experiments, we observed that the oxidation layers on the surface of the Ni and Co nanowires were reduced through 3 MeV Cl 2+ ion irradiation.