In this paper, the growth, structural and magnetic properties of cobalt (Co) films electrodeposited on a Pt/Si(1 0 0) substrate have been investigated. Co films with metallic appearance were obtained from aqueous solution of 0.1 M CoSO4, 10 mM CoCl2 as the source of metal ions and 1 M NaSO4 as a supporting electrolyte with 0.5 M H3BO3 at pH 4.2. This electrochemical technique indicated a deposition peak signature of limited diffusion growth with the transition from progressive to instantaneous nucleation mechanism. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) images showed a granular structure of the electrodeposited layers. X-ray measurements (XRD) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) indicate a small grain size with the presence of a mixture of Co hcp and fcc structures. The magnetic properties of the deposited films were investigated with a magnetic field in the parallel and perpendicular direction and showed that the easy magnetization axis is in the plane. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.