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The magnetic properties of CoP electrodeposited alloys can be easily controlled by layering the alloys and modulating the P content of the different layers by using pulse plating in the electrodeposition process. However, because of its amorphous nature, the study of the interface quality, which is a limitation for the optimization of the soft magnetic properties of these alloys, becomes a complex task. In this work, we use Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS) to determine that electrodeposited Co0.74P0.26/Co0.83P0.17 amorphous multilayers with layers down to 20 nm-thick are composed by well-defined layers with interfacial roughness below 3 nm. We have also determined, using magnetostriction measurements, that 4 nm is the lower limitation for the layer thickness. Below this thickness, the layers are mixed and the magnetic behavior of the multilayered films is similar to that shown by single layers, thus going from in-plane to out-of-plane magnetic anisotropy. Therefore, these results establish the range in which the magnetic properties of these alloys can be controlled by layering.

This work reports the fabrication and characterization of Langmuir–Blodgett films of nanoparticles (size 51 ± 10 nm) of the metal organic framework MIL-101(Cr). LB film characterization by SEM, UV–vis, GIXRD, and QCM has shown that the addition of 1 wt % of behenic acid to MOF dispersion allows obtaining dense monolayers at the air–water interface that can be deposited onto solid substrates of different nature with transfer ratios close to 1. Moreover, a QCM-based setup has been built and used for the first time to measure CO2 adsorption isotherms at 303 K on MOF LB films, proving that LB films with MOF masses between 1.2 (1 layer) and 2.3 (2 layers) μg can be used to obtain accurate adsorption values at 100 kPa, similar to those obtained by conventional adsorption methods that require much larger MOF quantities (tens of milligrams).

We report magnetic and electronic transport measurements across epitaxial bilayers of ferromagnetic insulator LaCoO3 and half-metallic ferromagnet La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 (LCO/LSMO: 3.5 nm/20 nm) fabricated by a chemical solution method. The I-V curves at room temperature and 4K measured with conducting atomic force microscopy (CAFM) on well-defined patterned areas exhibit the typical features of a tunneling process. The curves have been fitted to the Simmons model to determine the height (φ) and width (s) of the insulating LCO barrier. The results yield φ = 0.40 ± 0.05 eV (0.50 ± 0.01 eV) at room temperature (4K) and s = 3 nm, in good agreement with the structural analysis. Our results demonstrate that this chemical method is able to produce epitaxial heterostructures with the quality required for this type of fundamental studies and applications.