Synthesis and Characterization of FeCo Nanoparticles by Hydrothermal Method

Magnetic nanomaterials are of major interest due to the wide range of potential technological applications in which these materials can be used¹, such as high-density data storage, catalysis and medical diagnosis^2,3. Transition metallic materials, especially Co, Fe and Ni, and their alloys, exhibit particular properties that are rather different from those of their corresponding bulk counterparts^4,5. FeCo is considered as a very attractive system due to its magnetic, catalytic, and mechanical properties compared to  the elemental Fe and Co metals⁶. Previously, many methods have been used to elaborate FeCo NPs, such as mechanical alloying, electrodeposition and thermal decomposition. More recently, chemical routes, hydrothermal method notably, became a common way for the synthesis of bimetallic alloys, because they offer the ability for a controllable composition and morphology during the synthesis process.