Fabrication and magnetic property of monocrystalline cobalt nanowire array by direct current electrodeposition

Ordered monocrystalline cobalt nanowire array has successfully been synthesized in a porous alumina template by direct current electrodeposition. The as-obtained cobalt nanowires with diameters of 35 nm, 45 nm, 60 nm, and length of 18 μm have been observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). A highly preferential orientation of the cobalt nanowires has been obtained by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the orientation grows better as the hole diameter gradually reduces. M-H hysteresis loops determined by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) indicate that the nanowire arrays obtained possess an obvious magnetic anisotropy.