Electrodeposition of Ni32Fe48Mo20 and Ni52Fe33W15 alloy film on Cu microwire from ionic liquid containing plating bath

Bright and adherent thick films of NiFeMo and NiFeW alloy have been electrodeposited by constant current technique on Cu microwire (50 μm) from a citrate based bath containing Ionic liquid 1-dodecyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride. The effects of different electrodeposition parameters such as current density, pH, electrodeposition duration, metal ion concentration and IL concentration on magnetic properties, composition and structure of coatings have been investigated. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) shows that the films are uniform and free from damage. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data reveals that the films are mostly amorphous/nanocrystalline in nature. The composition analysis with Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDAX) technique and ICP-OES shows that under optimized experimental conditions the coatings with the Ni32Fe48Mo20 and Ni52Fe33W15. The relatively high saturation magnetization (65.3 and 37.08 emu/g), low coercivity Hc (4.0 and 12.0) and satisfactory giant magnetoimpedance (GMI) ratios (102.2% and 20.1%), makes them promising for application in magnetic sensors. The W and Mo content could be easily tuned in a solution containing IL to obtain the compact and uniform alloy films of desired composition, which has prospective to be used as catalyst and electrode material different industries such as fuel cell, hydrogen revolution reactions or sensing element in magnetic sensors.