Synthesis and characterization of cobalt–nickel alloy nanowires

We report on the synthesis and magnetic characterization of ordered arrays of cobalt–nickel alloy nanowires. These alloy nanowires were electrodeposited into the pores of anodic alumina templates. The physical properties of the samples were investigated using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometer. We found that for the alloy nanowires the field at which the magnetization saturates increases with increasing Co fraction and the saturation field in the normal direction is smaller than the parallel direction, indicating easy magnetization direction normal to wire axis. Nanowires with different compositional ratio of cobalt and nickel showed a nonlinear dependence of coercivity as a function of cobalt concentration. These findings will help tailor magnetic nanoalloys with controlled properties for various applications, such as high density magnetic storage or nanoelectrode arrays.