Preparation and characterization of Nanocrystalline nickel based alloy deposits

Nanostructured materials are experiencing a rapid development in the last two decades due to their potential applications in a variety of technological areas such as electronics, aerospace, catalysis, ceramics, magnetic data storage, biomedicine, etc. Electro- and electroless deposition processes have received much attention in the fabrication of nanostructured materials due to their unique advantages, high deposition rate, simplicity in operation, cost-effectiveness and controllable patterning. The present thesis addresses the synthesis and evaluation of the characteristic properties of Ni-P and Ni-B alloy deposits obtained by the electroless deposition technique, Cu-Ni and Co-Ni-Fe alloy deposits obtained by the pulsed current electrodeposition technique and Ni-Mn-P alloy deposits obtained by direct current electrodeposition technique. These nickel based alloy systems are chosen because of their unique characteristics, better magnetic properties and good corrosion resistance. These nickel based alloy systems also find widespread industrial applications. An attempt is also be made to synthesize CoNiFe nanorods using anodized aluminum oxide membrane as template by pulsed current electrodeposition technique. These nanorods will find application in the area of magnetic storage devices.