Electrochemical synthesis of Fe-W and Fe-W-P magnetic amorphous films and Fe-W nanowires

•FeW nanowires obtained for the first time by electrodeposition.•Binary FeW and ternary FeWP amorphous films from a new environmentally friendly electrolytic bath•Control of the induced codeposition in films and nanowires•Tuneable magnetic properties of films and nanowires as a function of the W percentage

Binary and ternary Fe-W and Fe-W-P films have been obtained electrochemically by using an alkaline stable bath of Fe(III) with a new complexing agent (nitrilotriacetic acid trisodium salt monohydrate-NTA), adequate to avoid carbon incorporation in the deposits and assure the bath durability. The different stages to obtain the alloy deposits through induced co-deposition have been proposed. Significant tungsten percentages in the deposits have been obtained, resulting stable amorphous films with soft-magnetic properties. However, it has been necessary to simplify the deposition process to obtain Fe-W alloy nanowires by means of induced co-deposition in the interior of polycarbonate membranes. For first time, Fe-W magnetic nanowires have been synthesised by templated induced co-deposition.

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