FeCo Nanorods Preparation Using New Chemical Synthesis

The as-prepared and annealed iron/cobalt (FeCo) magnetic nanoparticles (NPs) were obtained using a simple method by iron chloride hexahydrate (FeCl3.6H(2)O) and cobalt chloride hexahydrate (CoCl3.6H(2)O) as precursors and sodium borohydride (NaBH4) agent. The samples were characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), field effect scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), electron-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD patterns of FeCo samples showed the body center cubic (bcc) structure with a lattice constant of 2.70 angstrom. The SEM images showed that the particle size of the as-prepared sample was around 15 nm and the annealed sample was around 35 nm in diameter at 500 degrees C. It was found that by increasing annealing temperature, the size of the FeCo NPs increased to 60 nm at 1100 degrees C. TEM studies showed the rod-like particles for annealed sample. The sharp peaks in FTIR spectrum determined the element of FeCo NPs. EDS shows peaks of iron and cobalt with impurities in prepared samples. The result of magnetic measurements showed a good coercive field and saturation magnetization around 1158 Oe and 22 emu g(-1), respectively.