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Synthesis of Magnetic Self-Assembled Nickel-Rich Oxide Nanowires Using a Novel Electrochemical Process
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Abstract
We present a novel self-assembly nanowire synthesis technique capable of producing nickelrich oxide nanowires of lengths up to 20μm and diameters as small as 5nm. The method was discovered while examining the oxidation of Alloy 600 (nickel- 15.5a/o Cr, 8a/o Fe) in a pressurized water reactor environment. The nanowires have been grown on substrates of Alloy 600 and other nickel-chromium substrates exposed to oxidizing conditions in 1500psi pressurized water with 2ppm lithium and 1200ppm boron at temperatures ranging from 238°C to 288°C. Oxidizing conditions can be controlled in one of two ways: by controlling the aqueous solution's dissolved oxygen concentration, or by use of a potentiostat. Compositional studies performed via energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) using a transmission electron microscope (TEM) indicate the content of the nanowires grown on Alloy 600 to be 49a/o oxygen, 47a/o Ni, and 4a/o Fe. Preliminary TEM analysis has revealed the nanowires to be single crystalline with an aspect ratio up to 1000:1. The nickel-rich oxide nanowires are particularly exciting because of their functional properties. The oxide composition of the nanowires gives them an inherent resistance to electrochemically aggressive environments, such as ones found in the body or many other aqueous solutions, in contrast to simple metal nanowires, which are susceptible to corrosion in such environments. Most importantly, analysis with a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometer indicates that the nickel-rich oxide nanowires are ferromagnetic with a coercivity of approximately 850e and a remnant field of 0.032emu/g at 300K.
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- Copyright © Materials Research Society 2005
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