Electrochemical synthesis of cobalt nickel nanowires in an ethanol–water bath

Co–Ni alloy nanowires were synthesized using an electroreduction procedure of cobalt and nickel chloride in an ethanol–water bath in presence of sulfobetaine as stabilizating agent. Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering (WAXS), High Resolution Electronic Microscopy (HREM) and Electron Energy Loss Spectroscopy (EELS) characterizations clearly show that each nanowire is composed of a homogenous Co–Ni alloy. Depending on the synthesis conditions, cobalt content fluctuates between 70 to 75 wt.% Needles length reaches several hundreds of nanometers whereas their width oscillates around some tens of nanometers.