Mossbauer study of Fe0.92-xCoxP0.08 nanowire arrays

Arrays of Fe0.92-xCoxP0.08 (0.22 <= x <= 0.78) ternary alloy nanowires were fabricated in anodic aluminium oxide templates by electrochemical deposition. The broadened peaks in transmission Mossbauer spectra and the halo in selected area electron diffraction patterns indicate that the structure of Fe0.92-xCoxP0.08 nanowires is amorphous. However, the short-range order of Fe0.92-xCoxP0.08 nanowires has a bcc structure with a [1 1 0]-preferred orientation that is parallel to the nanowires. The magnetic texture results in the magnetic moment direction of the Fe atoms being along the nanowires. The short-range order around the Fe atoms reaches a minimum at x = 0.45. With increasing Co content, the average hyperfine field decreases, while the isomer shift and quadrupole splitting remain almost constant, which result from the variation of 3d and 4s electron volume density at the Fe sites. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.