Iron-Cobalt Coatings Produced Using an Eco-friendly Route

Abstract

A facile, low-cost, and green route for synthesis of high-induction Fe–Co coatings was developed. Within this approach, three natural reducing agents have been used for deposition of the metal coatings by electroless plating on dielectric and metallic substrates: arabinogalactan, starch, and sucrose. The Fe–Co alloy coatings with Co content from 0 to 94 at.% are nanocrystalline bcc solid solution with carbon additive no more than 2 at%, and pure Co coatings are of hcp structure. The magnetic properties of bcc-based iron–cobalt alloys have been investigated as a function of the atomic composition. A high-saturation magnetization of about 240 emu/g was obtained for Fe70Co30 alloy films deposited onto copper substrate. The local magnetic anisotropy of FeCo alloys increases with a decrease in iron content for all reducing agents. High magnetization close to those in the bulk Fe–Co alloys implies the prospective applications of synthesized Fe–Co coatings as magnetic shield and magnetic sensors.