Structural and magnetic characterization of (FeCo)1−xCrx nanowires array prepared by pulsed electrodeposition

(FeCo)1−xCrx nanowires (NWs) were grown by a pulsed AC electrodeposition technique into aluminum oxide nanoporous templates with good consistency. The structural features and morphologies of the NWs array were examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). A vibrating sample magnetometer equipped with the first-order reversal curve (FORC) diagram was then used to find the magnetic properties. The formation of NW with the (110) texture was also confirmed for the whole series samples. With increasing the Cr addition on the FeCo NW arrays, the corresponding diffraction peak in the XRD patterns was shifted to the lower angles and the lattice constant was increased. FE-SEM analysis also revealed that (FeCo)1−xCrx NWs with the length of 10 µm were grown above the Cu pre-plating layer into aluminum oxide with the pore diameter of 30 nm. Further, the hysteresis loops showed that the coercivity were decreased from 2265 to 1388 Oe, respectively, with an increase in the Cr content from the concentration of 0 to 0.03 M. FORC diagrams proved a decrease of the magnetostatic interaction with Cr content and a non-interacting single domain structure for the maximum Cr addition. Local magnetic interactions were also found to prevail in the presence of the Cr element beside the magnetic phase.