Correlation between morphology and magnetic properties of electrochemically produced cobalt powder particles

Abstract

Cobalt 3D powder particles were successfully prepared by the galvanostatic electrodeposition. Electrodeposited cobalt powder were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) analysis and SQUID magnetometry. It has been shown that morphology, structure and magnetic properties of cobalt particles are closely associated and can be easily controlled by adjusting process parameters of electrodeposition. Morphology of cobalt powder particles is strongly affected by hydrogen evolution reaction as a parallel reaction to cobalt electrodeposition. Depending on the applied current density, the two types of powder particles were formed: dendrites at lower and spongy-like particles at higher current densities. Morphologies and structures of powder particles are correlated with their magnetic properties, and compared with those of the bulk cobalt. In comparison with the properties of bulk cobalt, the obtained 3D structures exhibited a decreased saturation magnetization (MS), but an enhanced coercivity (HC) which is explained by their peculiar morphology. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III 45012]

Keywords

• electrodeposition
• cobalt
• powder
• scanning electron microscope (SEM)
• X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis
• magnetic properties