Highly uniform Cu₉₀Co₁₀ alloy nanorod arrays: Fabrication and characterization

Highly uniform Cu₉₀Co₁₀ alloy nanorod arrays have been successfully synthesized by electrochemical deposition using a polycarbonate (PC) membrane template to ensure nanosized structures. In this study, ethylenediamine was used as the complexing agent to achieve co-deposition of Cu and Co in a two-electrode system, which resulted in the formation of the of Cu₉₀Co₁₀ solid solution alloys. The transmission electron microscope and scanning electron microscope data revealed that the nanorod arrays have a conical shape morphology. The two ends of nanorod arrays have diameters of 200 and 320 nm, respectively. And the nanorod arrays can be as long as 6∼7 μm. Magnetic measurements demonstrated that the coercivities (H_c) of Cu₉₀Co₁₀ alloy nanorod arrays for an applied parallel and perpendicular field are about 206 and 154 Oe, respectively. The hysteresis loops indicate that the easy axis of magnetization is parallel to the nanorod arrays.