Fabrication and magnetic transition in Fe-doped Ni-P nanoarrays by using electroless plating deposition

Nanostructured magnetic materials have excellent magnetic properties and make them promising candidates for use in radio frequency inductor, magnetic devices and information-storage applications. Recent the most studies use electrodeposition on AAO template to fabricate the magnetic nanowires or nanorods of transition metals, such as Ni, Co, Ni-Co. In this study, the Ni-P nanoarrays doped with Fe (Fe-Ni-P nanoarrays) will be fabricated by employing an anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) template in the electroless plating Fe-Ni. Preliminary results revealed that the superparamagnetic Ni-P nanoarrays transformed into ferromagnetic nanoarrays due to 4 at% Fe-doping. The Fe-Ni-P nanoarrays were with a dimension of ~300 nm in height and ~70 nm in diameter (aspect ratio =~4.3). The magnetic hysteresis curves indicate Fe-Ni-P nanoarrays which were annealed at 400 °C for 1 hr had novel magnetic properties with much enhanced coercivity and saturation magnetization as compared with as-deposited.