Multifunctional multisegmented Co/CoPt3 heterostructure nanowires

Abstract

Multisegmented (MS) Co/CoPt₃ nanowires (NWs) have been successfully fabricated by a template-assisted pulsed electrodeposition process and the length of each Co and CoPt₃ segment is controlled by the pulse durations. The MS NWs show both the characteristic surface plasmon absorption and catalytic properties of CoPt₃ and the strong ferromagnetic properties of Co that are affected by the interactions between Co and CoPt₃. Furthermore, the ferromagnetic, optical, and catalytic properties can be well modulated by mainly changing the length of the Co and CoPt₃ segments, respectively. Such multifunction of MS nanowires can be exploited for recyclable catalysts and bioassays based on their magnetic–catalytic and magnetic–optical properties, respectively.