Recent progress of grain boundary diffusion process for hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets

Grain boundary diffusion process(GBDP)was first proposed for sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets to achieve the high utilization efficiency of heavy rare earth elements.Recent success of fabricating high performance nanocomposite magnets by GBDP indicates that this method also exerts huge applicable potential on hot-deformed Nd-Fe-B magnets.In this review,the development and magnetic property enhancement mechanisms of different diffusion methods proposed on hot-deformed magnets were thoroughly elucidated.Moreover,the improve room for further property enhancement and the accompanying problems of GBDP on hot-deformed magnets are also discussed in this article.

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.

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 developing the process,reducing the consumption of heavy rare earth elements(Tb),and improving the coercivity of sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets.

Development of non-rare earth grain boundary modification techniques for Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets

The magnetic performance of Nd-Fe-B magnets depends on their grain boundary structure.Intergranular addition and grain boundary diffusion(GBD)process are effective approaches for enhancing coercivity with low material cost.This review summarizes the development of grain boundary modification techniques with emphasis on our recent work using cost-effective non-rare earth(non-RE)sources for GBD.Up to now,heavy rare earth(HRE)based compounds,metals and light rare earth(LRE)based alloys have been successfully employed as the diffusion sources for coercivity enhancement.Inspired from the previous investigations on the intergranular addition of non-RE compounds and alloys for Nd-Fe-B magnets,in 2015,we firstly proposed a novel GBD process based on diffusion source of Mg O.After that,various non-RE diffusion sources have been developed.The fundamentals of non-RE additives and non-RE diffusion sources for hard magnetic properties enhancement of Nd-Fe-B magnets are summarized here based on both the experimental and computational results.In particular,the properties-microstructure relationships of non-RE GBD modified magnets are discussed.The non-RE alloys or compounds modify the composition and structure of the grain boundary by diffusing into the intergranular regions,resulting in enhanced coercivity and corrosion resistance.Recently,we used Al-Cr coatings for both coercivity enhancement and surface protection,which shortens the production process and makes non-RE diffusion sources more competitive.The opportunity and future directions for non-RE GBD are also discussed in this review.