Magnetic and optical properties of porous anodic alumina/co composite films with gradual microstructures.

A simple method to tune the magnetic and optical properties of porous anodic alumina (PAA) films embedded with Co nanowires is reported. The PAA/Co composite films with gradually changing microstructures displayed highly saturated rainbow rings of structural colours and gradual magnetism after being synthesized following a one-step AC electrodeposition method. The magnetization and optical properties of the films can be effectively tuned by varying the deposition voltage, time and controlling the distance between electrodes. A theoretical study on the electrodeposition mechanism that requires gradually changing the length of Co nanowires is consistent with the reported experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]