Facile synthesis of atomically mixed Fe50Co50 nanoalloys via a simple combustion-based route

Solid solution Fe50Co50 nanoalloys (NAs) with body centered cubic (bcc) structure have been successfully synthesized via a facile combustion-based route with two simple steps. Firstly, the mixed oxides (CoFe2O4 and CoO) were prepared by solution combustion synthesis. Subsequently, the Fe50Co50 NAs were synthesized through hydrogen reduction of mixed oxides. The influence of the fuel-to-oxidizer ratio (4) on the phase constituents, specific surface area and morphology of the combustion products were discussed. The phases, morphology and magnetic properties of reduction products at various temperatures were investigated. The product reduced at 500 degrees C exhibits the bcc Fe50Co50 NAs structure with crystallite size similar to 50 nm and the two elements are evenly distributed in a single nanoparticle. The saturation magnetization of Fe50Co50 NAs reduced at 500 degrees C reaches 214.77 emu/g. Considering the simple and facile preparation process, the synthesized Fe50Co50 NAs with high saturation magnetization will present a wide range of potential applications in data storage, magnetic resonance imaging and biomedicine. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.