Abstract

The chemical synthesis of shape and composition controlled Fe based binary alloys has been challenging due to the highly oxidizing nature of Fe. Here, we report the physical properties of flower-like Fe50Co50 nanoparticles prepared by a unique polyol process based on the addition of precursors at the elevated temperature. The magnetic properties are correlated through synchrotron radiation based X-ray diffraction and Fe-57 Mossbauer spectrometry. Transmission electron microscopy analysis exposed the flower-like morphology of the FeCo particles. The FeCo nanoparticles showed a coercivity of 440 Oe, attributed to the shape anisotropy of the flower-like shape. Room temperature Mossbauer investigation revealed hyperfine fields of 34.9 and 36.7 T, suggesting two different Fe environments in the disordered state. Mossbauer analysis also showed the presence of superparamagnetic Fe-oxide with a relative fraction of 17%. Published by AIP Publishing.