Controlled chemical synthesis and enhanced performance of micron-sized FeCo particles

A direct controlled chemical method for preparing large grain FeCo particles with micron level has been reported in this work. Nearly spherical bcc-FeCo alloy particles with average particle size of 1-5 mu m have been synthesized by controlled reduction reactions of Fe2+ and Co2+ ions in the water/CTAB/n-butanol/n-hexane microemulsion system. The micron-scale FeCo particles exhibit good intrinsic magnetic properties with high saturation magnetization of 199-211 A m(2)/kg, due to their high purity and single bcc-FeCo phase. The FeCo-based magnetic cores with high density of 7.12-7.45 g/cm(3) can be produced via powder compacting molding process. The simple preparation process, good air stability, high saturation magnetization and good compaction ability for the chemically synthesized micro-scale FeCo particles, promise the great potential use of these materials for the full-density, near-net-shape and complex-shaped FeCo-based soft magnetic devices in high-power applications. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.