Morphological Controlled Synthesis of FeCo Nanoparticles and Their Magnetic Properties

Objective: Controlled morphological FeCo nanoparticles with different Fe/Co ratios were prepared by a surfactant-free modified chemical reduction process in the water medium. Methods: Polyethylene glycol PEG 200 was used to protect from areal oxidation of FeCo alloy, and a mixture of hydrazine, sodium hydroxide was served as the reducing system in this process. Results: It was found that the shape of FeCo nanoparticles varied from flakes to cubes according to the atomic ratio of the metal precursors. X-ray diffraction (XRD) data showed that the prepared samples with different compositions got a single-phase body-centered–cubic structured FeCo alloy. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) confirmed all sample's atomic ratios and sizes (FeCo cubes with a size of ~130 nm). Conclusion: The vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) measurements reveal that the Fe60Co40 had the highest magnetization of 208 emu/g among all samples.