Synthesis and catalytic application of magnetic Co–Cu nanowires

A rapid, template-free method was developed to prepare magnetic, bimetallic Co-Cu nanowires via liquid phase reduction and metal replacement under an external magnetic field. The characterization results confirmed that the as-prepared product was bimetallic Co-Cu nanowires with a desirable linear structure. Additionally, the magnetic hysteresis loop showed that the bimetallic Co-Cu nanowires were paramagnetic, which meant they could be easily separated from the reaction mixture. Furthermore, they were applied to the hydrolysis system of ammonia borane as a catalyst for the first time. More importantly, the catalysis results showed that the bimetallic nanowires possessed appealing catalytic performance. Therefore, a rapid and facile synthesis method is introduced which is capable of preparing bimetallic Co-Cu nanowires with great potential for industrial applications.