The electrodeposition behaviors and magnetic properties of Ni–Co films

▶ The ITO glasses were used as the substrate in the field of Ni–Co film. ▶ Higher Co2+ concentration causes a negative shift of the oxidation peak. ▶ The oxidation currents increase with the increase of Co2+ concentration. ▶ Structures of the heated films were specifically discussed. Ni–Co films with different compositions and microstructures were produced on ITO glasses by electrodeposition from sulphate bath at 25°C. Cyclic voltammograms give a result that the increase in the Co2+ concentration displaces Ni–Co alloy oxidation peaks to negative potential with high Co current distributions. It is observed that the content of cobalt in the films increases from 22.42% to 56.09% as the molar ratio of CoSO4/NiSO4 varying from 0.015/0.085 to 0.045/0.055 in electrolyte. XRD patterns reveal that the structure of the films strongly depends on the Co content in the deposited films. The saturation magnetization (Ms) moves up from 144.84kAm−1 to 342.35kAm−1 and coercivity (Hc) falls from 15.27kAm−1 to 7.27kAm−1 with the heat treatment temperature increasing from 25°C to 450°C. The saturation magnetization (Ms) and coercivity (Hc) move up from 340.97kAm−1 and 7.98kAm−1 to 971.58kAm−1 and 18.62kAm−1 with the Co content increasing from 22.42% to 56.09% after annealing at 450.