Nickel (Ni) and cobalt (Co) metal nanowires were fabricated by using an electrochemical deposition method based on an anodic alumina oxide (Al(2)O(3)) nanoporous template. The electrolyte consisted of NiSO(4) center dot 6H(2)O and H(3)BO(3) in distilled water for the fabrication of Ni nanowires, and of CoSO(4) center dot 7H(2)O with H(3)BO(3) in distilled water for the fabrication of the Co ones. From SEM and TEM images, the diameter and length of both the Ni and Co nanowires were measured to be similar to 200 nm and 5-10 mu m, respectively. We observed the oxidation layers in nanometer scale on the surface of the Ni and Co nanowires through HR-TEM images. The 3 MeV Cl(2+) ions were irradiated onto the Ni and Co nanowires with a dose of 1 x 10(15) ions/cm(2) Cl(2+). The surface morphologies of the pristine and the 3 MeV Cl(2+) ion-irradiated Ni and Co nanowires were compared by means of SEM, AFM, and HR-TEM experiments, The atomic concentrations of the pristine and the 3 MeV Cl(2+) ion-irradiated Ni and Co nanowires were investigated through XPS experiments. From the results of the HR-TEM and XPS experiments, we observed that the oxidation layers on the surface of the Ni and Co nanowires were reduced through 3 MeV Cl(2+) ion irradiation. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.