Powder Technology, Vol.302, 434-442, 2016
Mechanochemical synthesis and magnetic characterization of nanocrystalline Fe-Nd alloys
Synthesis and magnetic'feature of nanocrystalline Fe Nd alloys were the main goal of current research. In this regard, different Fe2O3-Nd2O3 powder mixtures with appropriate amounts of CaH2 were milled in order to fabricate nanocrystalline Fe, Fe95Nd5 and Fe85Nd15 compounds. The produced samples were characterized using Xray diffraction (XRD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The results showed that, nanocrystalline Fe, Fe95Nd5 and Fe85Nd15 alloys can be synthesized by reduction reaction of Fe2O3, Nd2O3 and CaH2 during mechanical milling. The structure of Fe95Nd5 and Fe85Nd15 alloys was a combination of nanocrystalline Fe and Fe17Nd2 phases. The produced alloys exhibited soft magnetic properties with the coercivity and saturation of magnetization in the range of 17-23 kA/m and 16-33 Am-2/kg, respectively. It was found that with an increase in Nd content, the soft magnetic properties of Fe-Nd alloys were abruptly varied. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.