^(57)Fe Mössbauer spectrometry: A powerful technique to analyze the magnetic and phase characteristics in RE–Fe–B permanent magnets

This review summarizes the recent advances on the application of ^(57)Fe Mössbauer spectrometry to study the magnetic and phase characteristics of Nd–Fe–B-based permanent magnets. First of all, the hyperfine structures of the Ce_(2)Fe_(14)B,(Ce,Nd)_(2)Fe_(14)B and MM_(2)Fe_(14)B phases are well-defined by using the model based on the Wigner-Seitz analysis of the crystal structure. The results show that the isomer shift δ and the quadrupole splitting öEQ of those 2:14:1 phases show minor changes with the Nd content, while the hyperfine field Bhfincreases monotonically with increasing Nd content and its value is influenced by the element segregation and phase separation in the 2:14:1 phase. Then, the hyperfine structures of the low fraction secondary phases are determined by the ^(57)Fe Mössbauer spectrometry due to its high sensitivity. On this basis,the content, magnetic behavior, and magnetization of the REFe_(2) phase, the amorphous grain boundary(GB) phase, and the amorphous worm-like phase, as well as their effects on the magnetic properties, are systematically studied.

Simultaneous enhancement of coercivity and electric resistivity of Nd-Fe-B magnets by Pr-Tb-Al-Cu synergistic grain boundary diffusion toward high-temperature motor rotors

To high-power permanent magnetic motors,it is critical for Nd-Fe-B magnets to maintain the desirable coercivity at high-temperature operating conditions.To address this,two approaches have been proven effective:(1)enhancing the room temperature coercivity;(2)reducing the eddy current loss.However,these two items are difficult to be simultaneously achieved.Here,the grain boundary diffusion(GBD)of the Pr-Tb-Al-Cu-based source is applied to enhance the coercivity and electric resistivity at room temperature from 1101 kA m-1 and 2.13×10–6Ωm to 1917 kA m-1 and 2.60×10–6Ωm,and those at 120°C from 384 kA m-1 and 4.31×10–6Ωm to 783 kA m-1 and 4.86×10–6Ωm,respectively.Such optimization is ascribed to the improved formation depth of Tb-rich 2:14:1 shells with large magnetocrystalline anisotropy and the increased intergranular Pr-based oxides with high electric resistivity,induced by the coordination effects of Tb and Pr,as proven by the atomic-scale observations and the first principles calculations.It thus results in the simultaneously improved output power and energy efficiency of the motor because of the combination of magnetic thermal stability enhancement and eddy current loss reduction,as theoretically confirmed by electromagnetic simulation.

Grain boundary construction and properties enhancement for hot deformed(Ce,La,Y)-Fe-B magnet by a two-step diffusion process

The rare earth-iron-boron magnets based on high abundance rare earths(REs)show potential for costeffective permanent magnets but their hard magnetic properties have to be greatly improved.The grain boundary diffusion process(GBDP)is known as an effective way to improve the coercivity of Nd-Fe-B magnets,however,the conventional diffusion method faces a challenge for Ce-based magnets since there is no enough continuous GB layer as the diffusion channel.Here,a two-step(Nd-Cu doping followed by Nd-Cu diffusion)GBDP was introduced for hot deformed(Ce,La,Y)-Fe-B magnet,and the excellent magnetic properties ofμ0Hc=0.63 T,μ0Mr=0.68 T,and(BH)max=72.4 kJ/m^(3)were achieved.The Nd-Cu doping helps the formation of RE-rich GB layer,and then it acts as the diffusion channel for increasing the ef-ficiency of the subsequent Nd-Cu diffusion and results in the increased volume fraction of continuously distributed GB phase,whose paramagnetism was verified by 57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry.Those paramagnetic GB phases help to form the discontinuous domain walls,as observed by Lorentz transmission electron microscopy,and break the magnetic exchange coupling of RE2Fe14B grains.It thus contributes to the coercivity enhancement of the hot deformed magnet with two-step diffusion,which is further proved by micromagnetic simulation.This study proposes a potential technique to prepare anisotropic hot deformed(Ce,La,Y)-Fe-B magnet with high cost-performance.

Enhanced magnetic properties in chemically inhomogeneous Nd-Dy-Fe-B sintered magnets by multi-main-phase process

Homogeneous substitution of Dy for Nd in the hard magnetic 2:14:1 phase can effectively enhance coercivity to ensure the high temperature operation,however,inevitably deteriorate remanence at expense.In this work,we performed a comparative investigation of the two magnets prepared by multimain-phase(co-sintering Nd_(2)Fe_(14)B and(Nd,Dy)_(2)Fe_(14)B powders)and single-main-phase(sintering(Nd,Dy)_(2)Fe_(14)B powders)approaches.The comparative investigation reveals that at the same Dy substitution level(2.16 wt%),such chemically inhomogeneous multi-main-phase magnet possesses better roomtemperature magnetic properties as well as thermal stability than those of the single-main-phase one with homogenous Dy distribution in the matrix grains.Room-temperature magnetic properties H_(Cj)=1664 kA/m,B_(r)=1.33 T and(BH)_(max)=350.4 kJ/m^(3)for the multi-main-phase magnet are all better than those for the single-main-phase magnet with H_(Cj)=1536 kA/m,B_(r)=1.29 T and(BH)_(max)=318.4 kj/m^(3).In addition,over the temperature range from 295 to 423 K,both the temperature coefficients of coercivity and remanence for the multi-main-phase magnet are also lower than that for the single-main-phase magnet.Such superior magnetic performance is attributed to the short-range magnetic interactions inside individual 2:14:1 phase grains and the long-range magnetostatic interactions between adjacent grains with inhomogeneous Dy distribution.Our work provides a feasible approach of enhancing coercivity and retaining energy product simultaneously in the Nd-Dy-Fe-B permanent magnets.

Influence of gadolinium and dysprosium substitution on magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect of Fe78-xRExSi4Nb5B12Cu1 amorphous alloys

Amorphous Fe78-xRExSi4 Nb5 B12Cu1(RE=Gd,Dy) ribbons with different RE contents were prepared by melt spinning to investigate the effect of heavy rare earth(Gd,Dy) substitution on the hyperfine structure,magnetic properties and magnetocaloric effect.The Curie temperature of RE substituted alloys,hyperfine field and magnetic moments of Fe atoms initially increase up to 1 at% RE content and then decrease monotonously for increasing RE content up to 10 at%.The dependence of magnetic entropy change(-△SM) and refrigeration capacity(RC) of the alloys on RE contents displays the same tendency.The RCAREA values of the alloys substituted with 1 at% Gd and Dy are similar to those of recently reported Fe-based metallic glasses with enhanced RC values compared with those of Gd5 Ge1.9Si2 Fe0.1.Enhanced-△SM and RC values,negligible coercive force and hysteresis commonly make these Fe78-xREx-Si4 Nb5 B12Cu1 amorphous alloys as low-cost candidates for high-temperature magnetic refrigeration.

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

The micro structure, 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 multijunctions of Nd_2 Fe_（14）B 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 micro structure parameters and enhancing the obtainable properties for sintered NdFeB magnets.

Micromagnetic investigation by a simplified approach on the demagnetization field of permanent magnets with nonmagnetic phase inside

A simplified analysis method based on micromagnetic simulation is proposed to investigate effects of nonmagnetic particles on the demagnetizing field of a permanent magnet By applying the additivity law of the demagnetizing field,the complicated demagnetizing field of the real magnet could be analyzed by only focusing on the stray field of the reserved magnet For a magnet with nonmagnetic particles inside,the particle size has no significant effect on the maximum value of the demagnetization field,but the area of the affected region by the particle is proportional to the particle size.A large particle produces a large affected area overlapped with those influenced by other particles,which leads to the large demagnetization field.With increasing the length of the particle along the magnetization direction,the demagnetization field on the pole surface increases.The pole surface with a convex shape will increase the demagnetization field.The demagnetizing field near the nonmagnetic particle will be further increased by the large macroscopic demagnetizing field near the pole surface.This work suggests some practical approaches to optimize the microstructure of permanent magnets.