Effect of current density and bath composition on crystalline structure and magnetic properties of electrodeposited FeCoW alloy

In this research, FeCoW alloy coatings were prepared by galvanostatic method. The influence of current density and bath composition on microstructure and magnetic properties of electrodeposited FeCoW alloys were also studied. All coatings showed (2 2 0) preferred orientation with a two phase structure at higher current densities. Grain size of the coatings deposited from 0.01 and 0.03 M tungsten content electrolytes was in the range of 29-126 and 10-42 nm, respectively. Microhardness of the coatings deposited from the former electrolyte changed by chemical composition of the alloys, while this parameter changed by grain-size reduction for the coatings deposited from the latter one. The coercivity was controlled by grain-size reduction and surface morphology. It could be stated that the high-tungsten content electrolyte produced coatings with superior magnetic behaviour and microhardness compared with the electrolyte with low -tungsten content. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.