Effects of cerium substitution on phase components,microstructures and magnetic properties of Nd-Fe-Ti-B alloy

(Nd_(1-x)Ce_x)_(12)Fe_(77)Ti_5B_6(x = 0,0.2,0.3,0.4,0.6,0.8)alloys were prepared by melt-spinning and annealing techniques.The phase constitutions,microstructures and magnetic properties were investigated by powder X-ray diffraction(XRD),a differential scanning calorimeter(DSC),a vibrating sample magnetometer(VSM)and a transmission electron microscope(TEM).It is found that with the increase of Ce content,the coercivity of the(Nd_(1-x)Ce_x)_(12)Fe_(77)Ti_5B_6 alloys reaches maximum first and then decreases.The maximum coercivity reaches 18.5 kOe obtained in the sample of 20% Ce substituted which is 34%higher than the Ce-free sample.TEM results reveal that the micro structure refinement effect is responsible for the coercivity improvement.This phenomenon implies that in some cases,Ce and Ti co-doping is more beneficial to improving of the coercivity than Ti single doping in Nd-Fe-B alloys.With further Ce addition,magnetic properties deteriorate due to the formation of CeFe_2 and TbCu_7-type phases.     

Effect of magnetic layer thickness on magnetic properties of Ce-Fe-B thin films

The Ce_2 Fe_(14)B thin films with a notable out-of-plane c-axis texture were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering on a Ta buffer layer. The morphological and magnetic properties were investigated. The thickness of the magnetic layer had a dramatic effect on the formation of Ce_2 Fe_(14)B phase,and excellent magnetic properties(H_(ci)≈4.25 kOe, M_r/M_s≈0.81) were observed for the Ce-Fe-B film with the thickness d_m = 200 nm. The results of the hysteresis loops for Ce-Fe-B film(d_m = 200 nm) at various measured temperatures show that a decoupling between the hard and the soft phases is observed at low temperatures, which is due to the regions with quite low anisotropy provided by the a-Fe. Moreover. it is clear that significantly various magnetization behaviors between the films with d_m = 200 and 300 nm were observed with a similar trend due to the existence of the a-Fe soft phase.     

Influence of Pr-Al-Co alloy diffusion source on magnetic properties and microstructure of sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets processed by grain boundary diffusion

In this study, the influence of the content of Al and Co in the diffusion source on the magnetic performance and microstructure of the diffused magnet was studied by grain boundary diffusion treatment with Pr₇₀Al_30–xCo_x (x = 0 at%, 10 at%, 15 at%, 20 at%, 30 at%) alloys. When the Co content in the diffusion source increases from 0 at% to 10 at%, the coercivity enhancement in the Pr₇₀Al₂₀Co₁₀ diffused magnet is the highest, increased from 1.62 to 2.24 T, higher than 2.01 T of the Pr₇₀Al₃₀ diffused magnet. With further increase of Co content in the diffused source, the coercivity of the diffused magnet decreases gradually, the coercivity of Pr₇₀Al₁₅Co₁₅, Pr₇₀Al₂₀Co₁₀ and Pr₇₀Co₃₀ diffused magnet is 2.15, 1.99 and 1.81 T, respectively. Microstructural analysis shows that plenty of continuous grain boundary phases (CGBPs) can be formed in the Pr₇₀Al₂₀Co₁₀ diffused magnet under the synergistic effect of Al and Co, which leads to the enhancement of magnetic isolation between more adjacent grains. However, the amount of CGBP in the diffused magnets gradually decreases with the further increase of Co content in the diffusion source.     

Effects of Pr-Cu-Ti intergranular addition on microstructure and magnetic properties of heavy-rare-earth-free Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets

By intergranular addition of Pr-Cu-Ti alloy powders in the Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets with the normal B component, we propose an approach to the optimization of grain boundary and local Nd-Fe-B composition system. The coercivity is enhanced from 1.42 to 1.86 T, while further addition leads to a reduction in remanence and coercivity. The analyses of phase composition reveal that Ti mainly exists in the form of metallic Ti alloy, and part of Ti combines with B to form the TiB₂ phase after the liquid phase sintering process. This process results in a consumption of B in the local Nd-Fe-B composition system and a change of the grain boundary component, which contributes to the formation process of the RE₆(Fe,M)₁₄ phase after the annealing process. Therefore, with the modification of grain boundary and composition system, the intergranular addition of Pr-Cu-Ti induces the generation of continuous thin grain boundary phases. It promotes the intergrain exchange decoupling, increasing the coercivity in the annealed magnet. While the excess addition results in the segregation of TiB₂, as well as the precipitation of TiB₂ into the Nd-Fe-B phase, which leads to structural defects. Thus, the further effort for the addition alloy with Ti to reduce the deterioration of the microstructure will lead to further improvement in magnetic properties.     

Optimization of microstructures and magnetic properties of Sm(CobalFe0.227Cu0.07Zr0.023)7.6 magnets by sintering treatment

Magnetic properties and microstructures of Sm(Co_(bal)Fe_(0.227)Cu_(0.07)Zr_(0.023_)_(7.6) sintered magnets were optimized by sintering treatment. Results show that the knee-point magnetic field, Hknee, is twofold up and the intrinsic coercivity Hcjincreases by 40%, ranging from 21.64 to 30.39 kOe at the cost of a little decrease of Brfrom 10.84 to 10.31 kGs with sintering temperature decreasing from 1488 to 1473 K. And the average domain width is narrower and more uniform for the specimen sintered at 1473 K than that of the specimen sintered at 1488 K. It is impressive that the density of lamellar phase increases from ~0.050 to ~0.058 nm~(-1) with the sintering temperature decreasing from 1488 to 1473 K. Moreover, the average cellular size is about ~84 nm for the magnets sintered at 1473 K, which is 80% of that of the magnets sintered at 1488 K(~97 nm). And the cell boundary width of the magnets sintered at 1473 K(~7 nm) is only half average width of the magnets sintered at 1488 K(~14 nm). It is found that the Cu content in the cell boundaries is much higher(~17 at%) in the magnets sintered at 1473 K compared to that of the magnets sintered at 1488 K(~10 at%). It can be concluded that smaller cells and narrower cell boundaries together with higher gradient of Cu content are key points for obtaining the optimum Hkneeand Hcj.     

Effects of grain boundary diffusion process on magnetic properties enhancement and microstructure evolution of hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets

Grain boundary diffusion(GBD) process is an important approach for producing Nd-Fe-B magnets with high coercivity and high thermal stability.The GBD for hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets with nanocrystalline micro structure is more complicated compared to sintered magnets.Here,we investigated the effects of different GBD methods,i.e.,intergranular addition(in-situ GBD 1#),in-situ GBD from magnet surface during hot pressing and hot deformation(in-situ GBD 2#),and conventional GBD,on the magnetic prope...     

Improvement in magnetic properties,corrosion resistance and microstructure of Nd–Fe–B sintered magnets through intergranular addition of Tb68Ni32

New energy vehicles and offshore wind power industries have a high demand for sintered Nd–Fe–B magnets with high intrinsic coercivity and high corrosion resistance. In this study, the magnetic properties, anticorrosion properties, and microstructure of Nd–Fe–B sintered magnets with the intergranular addition of low-melting-point eutectic Tb₆₈Ni₃₂ alloy powders were investigated. The aim is to determine if the addition of Tb₆₈Ni₃₂ can improve these properties. A low melting-point eutectic alloy Tb₆₈Ni₃₂ powders was prepared as a grain boundary additive and blended with the master alloy powders prior to sintering. The coercivity of the resultant magnets gradually increases from 1468 to 2151 kA/m by adding increasing amounts of Tb₆₈Ni₃₂. At the same time, the remanence first increases and then slightly decreases. After studying the microstructure and elemental composition of the Tb₆₈Ni₃₂ added magnets, it is found that the significant increase in coercivity and the negligible reduction in remanence is due to densification, improved grain orientation, a uniform and continuous boundary phase distribution, as well as the generation of a (Nd,Pr,Tb)₂Fe₁₄B “core–shell” structure surrounding the main-phase grain. Moreover, the corrosion resistance of the magnet is greatly improved owing to the enhancement of electrochemical stability, as well as the optimization of the distribution and morphology of the intergranular phase.     

Microstructure improvement related coercivity enhancement for sintered NdFeB magnets after optimized additional heat treatment

The microstructure, especially the Nd-rich phase and the grain boundary, in sintered NdFeB magnets plays an important role in magnetic reversal and coercivity mechanism. To better understand the effects of the microstructure on the coercivity, we investigated the microstructure and properties improvements of a commercial sintered NdFeB magnet after optimized additional heat treatment. The coercivity is enhanced from 1399 to 1560 kA/m. This enhancement has been explained in terms of the evolution of the grain boundary structure, and the formation of continuous thin layers of Nd-rich phase is important for high coercivity. The micromagnetic simulation together with the numerical analysis based on the nucleation model suggest that the reversed magnetic domains nucleate mainly at the interface of multi-junctions of Nd₂Fe₁₄B grains with high stray fields during the demagnetization process. Both improved anisotropy fields at grain boundaries and reduced stray fields at multi-junction Nd-rich phases contribute to the coercivity enhancement. This work has importance in understanding the crucial microstructure parameters and enhancing the obtainable properties for sintered NdFeB magnets.     

Influence of gadolinium on microstructure and magnetic properties of sintered NdGdFeB magnets

The effect of Gd content on microstructure and magnetic properties of sintered Nd33.03-xGdxFe65.65B1.32 (x=0-2) was studied in this paper to improve the thermal stability of NdFeB and to reduce the raw material cost. The results showed that better magnet performance could be obtained by adding Gd (0-1.5 wt.%) with partial substitution of Nd in Nd33.03-xGdxFe65.65B1.32. It was also found that the Nd33.03-xGdxFe65.65B1.32 magnets showed the best performance when Gd addition increased to 1.0 wt.%. The temperature coefficient Br (α) could be improved from -0.15%/oC to -0.063%/oC (maximum work temperature 120 oC) and the Curie temperature could be improved from 315 oC to 323 oC because the Gd2Fe14B had positive temperature coefficient Br (α) and higher Curie temperature than that of Nd2Fe14B. The coercivity could be improved from 10.2 to 11.48 kOe and the microstructure was close to ideal microstructure. The magnetic performance decreased sharply by adding Gd (above 2 wt.%) with partial substitution of Nd in Nd33.03-xGdxFe65.65B1.32 because the Gd element concen-trated in the grain boundaries.     

Magnetic properties and microstructure of nanocrystalline bulk Nd-Fe-B with Ce-Co addition

The influence of Ce-Co alloy addition and sintering holding time on permanent magnetic properties and micro structure of nanocrystalline Nd-Fe-B bulk alloy were investigated.The coercivity of Nd-Fe-B bulk alloy can be enhanced greatly by more than 100% after adding Ce-Co powders.However,when the concentration of Ce-Co is up to 30 wt%,the density of the magnet can reach the maximum value of 7.58 g/cm~3,but the coercivity does not increase significantly.On the other hand,with the increase of holding time to 10 min,the density and coercivity of magnets increase gradually,reaching up to 7.55 g/cm~3 and 1134.3 kA/m,respectively.After the addition of Ce-Co alloy,Ce-Co may easily diffuse into the Nd-Fe-B matrix during hot-pressing and under the high pressure and temperature,thus increasing the content of grain boundary phase and the pinning effect of grain boundary,which leads to the increase of coercivity.The extension of the hot-pressing holding time may be more conducive to the diffusion of CeCo into the Nd-Fe-B matrix.In addition,the effect of Ce-Co addition on the magnetic properties of Nd-FeB with different content of rare earth was also studied.The addition of Ce-Co can effectively increase the coercivity of nanocomposite Nd_2 Fe_(14)B/α-Fe magnets.The addition of Nb to the parent alloy can further improve the coercivity.For Nd_(11)Fe_(81.5)Nb_1 Ga_(0.5)B_6 alloy with 10 wt% Ce-Co addition,the coercivity can increase from 740.28 to 1098.48 kA/m.     

Effect of yttrium substitution on magnetic properties and service performances of Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets

We successfully fabricated partial Y substituted NdY-Fe-B magnets with nominal compositions of(Nd_1-xY_x)_13.80Fe_ba1Al_0.24Cu_0.1B_6.04(at%,x=0,0.1,0.2,0.3,0.4) by powder metallurgy process and the magnetic properties as well as service performances of the magnets were also systematically investigated.The phase constituents of the magnets have no obvious variation within the whole range of Y content,while the main phase grain...     

Improvement of coercivity and thermal stability of Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets by intergranular addition of Tb80Fe20 alloy

To improve the coercivity and temperature stability of Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets for high-temperature applications, the eutectic Tb₈₀Fe₂₀ (wt%) alloy powders were added into the Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets by intergranular method to enhance the coercivity (H_cj) and thermal stability. The microstructure, magnetic properties and thermal stability of the Nd-Fe-B magnets with different Tb₈₀Fe₂₀ contents were studied. The experimental results demonstrate that the coercivity (H_cj) of the sintered Nd-Fe-B magnet is significantly enhanced from 14.12 to 27.78 kOe, and the remanence (B_r) decreases not obviously by introducing 4 wt% Tb₈₀Fe₂₀ alloy. Meanwhile, the reversible temperature coefficients of coercivity (β) and remanence (α) of the Nd-Fe-B magnets are increased from ?0.5634%/℃ to ?0.4506%/℃ and ?0.1276%/℃ to ?0.1199%/℃ at 20–170 ℃, respectively. The Curie temperature (T_C) of the Nd-Fe-B magnet is slightly enhanced with the increase of Tb₈₀Fe₂₀ content. Moreover, the irreversible flux magnetic loss (h_irr) is obviously reduced as Tb₈₀Fe₂₀ addition increases. Further analysis of the microstructure reveals that a modified microstructure, i.e. clear and continuous RE-rich grain boundary layer, is acquired in the sintered magnets by introducing Tb₈₀Fe₂₀ alloy. The associated mechanisms on improved coercivity and thermal stability were comprehensively researched.     

Twinning,phase boundary structure and development of high coercivity in Fe-rich Sm2Co17-type magnets

The microstructure of twinning as well as the phase boundary between 1:5 H and 2:17 R phase in Fe-rich Sm₂Co₁₇-type magnets was characterized at atomic scale using nanobeam diffraction and highresolution STEM-HAADF imaging,and the reason for the dramatic increase of coercivity during slow cooling was investigated based on the microchemistry analysis.The twinning relationship in the 2:17 R phase originates from ordered substitution of Sm atoms by Co-Co atomic pairs on every three(3033)and(3033)planes,leading to formation of two corresponding equivalent twin variants.The basal plane of the 2:17 R phase,the 1:3 R platelet phase across the 2:17 R cell and the 1:5 H cell boundary phase between two adjacent 2:17 R cells all can act as effective twin boundary.The cell boundary phase is precipitated along the pyramidal habit plane,and a fully coherent phase boundary(PB)is formed between the 1:5 H and 2:17 R phases with the orientation relationship to be PB//(1121)1:5 H//(1011)₂:17 R.The phase boundary may either be parallel to or intersect with the pyramidal planes occupied by Co-Co atomic pairs.The substantial increase of coercivity during slow cooling is ascribed to the development of large gradient of the elements concentration within the cell boundary phase,resulting in large gradient of domain wall energy,and thus the pinning strength of the cell boundary phase against magnetic domain wall motion is significantly enhanced.     

Effect of heterogeneous microstructure on magnetization reversal mechanism of hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets

The hot-deformed(HD) Nd-Fe-B magnets show heterogeneous microstructure composed of coarse and fine grain regions. It is significant to fully understand the influence of this complex microstructure on the magnetization reversal process which can give the guidance for the enhancement of the magnetic properties. In this paper, the heterogeneous microstructure of the(HD) Nd-Fe-B magnets were characterized from the morphology, size, macro-texture and micro-structure. In addition, the magnetization reversal process of the HD Nd-Fe-B magnets was systematically analyzed by magnetic measurement, insitu domain evolution observation and micromagnetic simulation. The results indicate that the HD NdFe-B magnets mainly consist of fine grain regions(FGRs) and coarse grain regions(CGRs). The FGRs show plate-like grains with fine grain size and strong c-axis texture, while the CGRs show equiaxial grains with large grain size and weak c-axis texture. In particular, it is worth noting that the texture in homogeneity exists not only between FGRs and CGRs, but also inside both the FGRs and CGRs. The dominant coercivity mechanism of the HD Nd-Fe-B magnets is domain wall pinning. Also, the experimental analysis shows that the reverse domain is formed and expanded in the CGRs at low reverse applied field, while the reverse domain occurs in the FGRs at higher reverse applied field. The micromagnetic simulation results also confirm the above magnetization reversal process. In addition, micromagnetic simulation results also show that the orientation of the grains also affects the pinning strength, besides the grain size.     

Optimization of both coercivity and knee-point magnetic field of Sm2Co17-type magnets via solid solution process

It is confirmed that phase homogenization is very important for improving the magnetic properties of 2:17-type Sm–Co sintered magnets. In this work, the influence of solid solution process on microstructure and magnetic properties of the Sm(Co_balFe_0.233Cu_0.073Zr_0.024)_7.6 sintered magnets was systematically studied. With the solid-solution treating duration (t_s) increasing from 0 to 4 h, intrinsic coercivity (H_cj) increases from 12.83 to 36.54 kOe, magnetic field at knee-point (H_knee) increases from 2.76 to 19.14 kOe, and the maximum energy product increases from 19.79 to 29.48 MGOe. The electron probe microanalyzer results reveal that there mainly exist gray and dark regions besides “white” rare earth-rich phase, and the content of Sm, Fe and Cu elements for the two kinds of regions changes a lot for the specimens. Furthermore, with t_s increasing up to 4 h, the elements content deviation between the gray and dark regions becomes small gradually from 3.94 at% to 0.27 at%, 7.66 at% to 0.21 at% and 7.27 at% to 0.16 at% for Sm, Fe and Cu elements, respectively. Moreover, transmission electron microscopy results show that the distribution of cell size is much more concentrated for aged specimens when t_s is 4 h. It is also found that the Cu concentration at cell boundaries for the 4 h solid-solution treatment case shows relatively higher values and greater concentration gradient (1.94 at%/nm). It is verified that sufficient solution treatment duration is prerequisite to form these homogeneous microstructural features, which are the key points for obtaining both high H_cj and H_knee.     

Effect of dysprosium substitution on magnetic and structural properties of NiFe_2O_4 nanoparticles

This work investigated the effect of dysprosium(Dy)ions on the structural,microstructural and magnetic properties of nickel nanospinelferrite,NiFe_2 O_4.The nanoparticles(NPs)of NiDy_xFe_(2-x)O_4(0.0≤x≤0.1)were prepared via the hydrothermal method.The formation of cubic phase of Ni nanoferrite was confirmed through X-ray diffraction,field emission scanning and transmission electron microscopy.Moreover,the magnetic properties of NiDy_xFe_(2-x)P_4(0.01≤x≤0.10)NPs were discussed.The magnetization versus field,M(H)curves exhibit super paramagnetic nature at room temperature and ferrimagnetic nature at low temperature(10 K).A noticeable improvement in the different deduced magnetic parameters is obtained especially for the NiDy_(0.07)Fe_(1.93)O_4(x = 0.07)product.The obtained result is mostly derived from the substitution of Fe~(3+)ions of smaller ionic radii with Dy~(3+)ions of larger ionic radii that will strengthen the super exchange interactions among nanoparticles.The calculated squareness ratios are found to be much less than 0.5,due to the effect of spin disorder in the surface regions of NiDy_xFe_(2-x)O_4(0.01≤x≤0.10)NPs.The Dy~(3+) ions substitution increases the magnetic hardness(higher values of remanence M_r,coercivity H_c,and magnetic moment n_B)of nickel nanoferrite samples.     

Relationship between controllable preparation and microstructure of NdFeB sintered magnets

The double hard magnetic phase magnets with nominal compositions of Nd_30–xDy_xFe₆₉B₁(x=2, and 4) (wt.%) were prepared. The magnetic properties of the magnets were measured with a NIM-2000H hysteresigraph. The crystalline structures of the magnets were identified by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The Rietveld refinement was carried out using the FULLPROF software. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses were carried out in order to investigate the microstructure of the magnets. It showed that the magnets consisted mainly of Nd₂Fe₁₄B phase, and some Nd-rich phase. Two types of matrix-phase grains in dark grey and light grey were found in the magnets with x=2 and 4. The Dy content was obviously different in the two types of grains, which proved that the double hard magnetic phases (Dy-rich and Dy-lean phases) coexisted in the magnet. It revealed that the Nd-rich phases in junction regions had fcc structure, with the unit cell parameter of about 0.52–0.56 nm. The weak superlattice spots were found in the SAD patterns of the junction Nd-rich phases with large scale. The double hard magnetic phase structure seemed to improve the magnetic properties of NdFeB magnets with high coercivity, while decrease the consumption of Dy element, compared with the single alloy magnet.     

Effect of aluminum on microstructure and magnetic properties of sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets processed by grain boundary diffusion of Tb-Al

The grain boundary diffusion process(GBDP) of Tb can improve the coercivity of sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets.In this study,the effect of AI on the diffusion of Tb in the GBDP was investigated.The content of diffused Tb-Al was precisely controlled by adjusting the magnetron sputtering process.The Tb equivalent of Al was also studied.Results show that AI promotes the diffusion of Tb deeper into the magnet,reducing the thickness of the shell in the core-shell structure.This study is helpful for further ...     

Effect of yttrium substitution on magnetic properties and microstructure of Nd-Y-Fe-B nanocomposite magnets

The phase evolution,microstructure and magnetic properties of Nd9-xYxFe72Ti2Zr2B15(x=0,0.5,1,2) nanocomposite ribbons were investigated.It was found that substitution of Y enhanced glass forming ability of the over-quenched ribbons and stabilized the amorphous phase during post annealing treatment.Appropriate content of Y substitution effectively refined the microstructure and enhanced the remanence of the annealed samples.The residual amorphous intergranular phase in the annealed sample improved the square...     

A Monte Carlo study of spring-exchange magnets containing ultra-high coercive phases

The aim of the present work is to study magnetization processes in the spring-exchange magnetic composites containing magnetically soft, hard and ultra-high coercive phases, experimentally found in Tb-Fe-B-Nb group of alloys. In order to modeling hysteresis loops a special Monte Carlo procedure,suitable for irregular geometry of the composites, was applied. The obtained results indicate that sufficiently strong coupling between soft and hard magnetic phase leads to collective, single-phase-like movement of such phases, which in turn, causes increase of the coercivity and internal magnetic energy.