Coercivity modulation in Fe–Cu pseudo-ordered porous thin films controlled by an applied voltage: A sustainable, energy-efficient approach to magnetoelectrically driven materials

Fe–Cu films with pseudo‐ordered, hierarchical porosity are prepared by a simple, two‐step procedure that combines colloidal templating (using sub‐micrometer‐sized polystyrene spheres) with electrodeposition. The porosity degree of these films, estimated by ellipsometry measurements, is as high as 65%. The resulting magnetic properties can be controlled at room temperature using an applied electric field generated through an electric double layer in an anhydrous electrolyte. This material shows a remarkable 25% voltage‐driven coercivity reduction upon application of negative voltages, with excellent reversibility when a positive voltage is applied, and a short recovery time. The pronounced reduction of coercivity is mainly ascribed to electrostatic charge accumulation at the surface of the porous alloy, which occurs over a large fraction of the electrodeposited material due to its high surface‐area‐to‐volume ratio. The emergence of a hierarchical porosity is found to be crucial because it promotes the infiltration of the electrolyte into the structure of the film. The observed effects make this material a promising candidate to boost energy efficiency in magnetoelectrically actuated devices.