Optical and magnetic properties of PAA@Fe nanocomposite films

A simple method to fabricate porous anodic alumina films embedded with Fe is reported. The films exhibit vivid structural colors and magnetic properties after being synthesized by an ac electrodeposition method. The optical properties of the samples can be effectively tuned by varying the oxidation time of aluminum. The coercivity mechanism of the Fe nanowires in our case is consistent with fanning reversal mode. PAA@Fe films can be used in many areas including decoration, display and multifunctional anti-counterfeiting applications.