Fabrication and magnetic properties of metal nanowires via AAO templates

Metals (Ni, Co, Cu and Fe) nanowires were fabricated by electrodeposition onto anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template. In this work, we have studied the effect of the electrode potential on the microstructure and magnetic properties of nanowires. TEM results showed that Cu, Co and Ni nanowires were single crystal. Cu and Ni nanowires had the same orientation along the [220] direction, while Co had a preferred orientation along [100] direction. The growth mechanisms are probably due to the competition growth of the adjacent grains and the confinement of growth in the nano-sized hole of the AAO template. Single crystal Fe nanowires could not be formed by the application of different potentials. Ni, Co and Fe showed good magnetic properties. The coercivities up to 1.3 kOe and 1.6 kOe were obtained in Co and Fe nanowires with high remanence ratios 79.7% and 84.8% for Co and Fe, respectively. The remanence ratio of Ni was 97.9%.