Microstructure and magnetic properties of electrodeposited Gd-Co alloy films

Gd-Co alloy films were synthesized by potentiostatic electrolysis on Cu substrates in urea-acetamide-NaBr-KBr melt at 353 K. The electroreduction of Co2+ and Gd31+, was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, The reduction of CO2+ is an irreversible process. Gd3+ cannot be reduced alone, but it can be inductively co-deposited with Co2+ Both the Gd content and microstructure of the prepared Gd-Co alloy films can be controlled by the deposited potential. The content of Gd was analyzed using an inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometer (ICPES), and the microstructure was observed by scanning electron micrograph (SEM). The films were crystallized by heat-treatment at 823 K tor 30 s in Ar atmosphere, and then were investigated by XRD. The hysteresis loops of the Gd-Co alloy films were measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The experimental results reveal that the deposited Gd-Co alloy films are amorphous, while the annealing causes the samples to change from amorphous to polycrystalline, thus enhancing their magnetocrystalline anisotropy and coercivity. Moreover, the magnetic properties of the Gd-Co alloy films depend strongly on the Gd content.