Structure and magnetic properties of CoxPb1−x nanowire arrays

Ordered Co_xPb_1−x nanowire arrays embedded in the porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) template have been fabricated by electrodeposition. XRD experiments prove that neither hexagonal-close-packed (hcp) nor face-centered-cubic (fcc) Co peaks are detected when the Co component (x) is below 0.91. The coercivity (H_c) and squareness (M_r/M_s) are found to increase with ferromagnetic Co component and the maximum value is at the position x=1 (pure Co nanowires). Annealing effects cause H_c and M_r/M_s increase, which surpasses the pure Co nanowires in the 0.2<x<0.6 at the annealing temperature of 700 °C. Microstructure change during annealing process is proposed to explain the magnetic properties change of samples.