A Morphological Study of Nanocrystalline Magnetite Electrodeposited onto Polycrystalline Copper Substrates

Magnetite thin films have been grown onto polycrystalline copper substrates via an electrochemical route. X-ray diffraction was employed to identify the crystal structure. Detailed surface morphological analysis was performed by atomic force microscopy and field-emission-gun scanning electron microscopy. Experimental results indicate the film surface is generally smooth, with a root-mean-square roughness of over a field of view, although there exist small clusters due to anomalous growth. Additionally, annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscopy reveals that film homogeneity is affected by the grain boundaries in the copper substrate.