Electrodeposition of Nanostructured Permalloy and Permalloy-Magnetite Composite Coatings and Investigation of Their Magnetic Properties

Permalloy and permalloy-magnetite coatings were electrodeposited with the average thickness of 100 µm with certain operating parameters, such as the current density of 100 mA/cm², pH 3.8, and the temperature of 298 K (25 °C), to fabricate alloy and composite coatings, respectively. The aim was to promote the magnetic properties of permalloy coating in order to extend its magnetic applications. For this purpose, nanocrystalline permalloy and permalloy-magnetite coatings were electrodeposited. The effect of the content of magnetite particles in the bath on magnetic properties of the samples was investigated. Vibrating sample magnetometry was performed to investigate the variation of magnetic properties of the coatings. The optimum amount of magnetite (2 g/L) was determined according to the highest amount of saturated magnetization and a sensible amount of coercivity. The morphology, phase, elemental analyses of the coatings and the chemical composition analysis of the bath were performed by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction pattern, quantometry, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. The magnetization was increased initially and then decreased (after a limited amount of magnetite) by enhancing the content of magnetite particles in the bath. Also, the coercivity was decreased by increasing the amount of magnetite particles in the coatings, which was due to the reduction of the grain size of the permalloy matrix.