Structure and magnetic properties of bulk anisotropic SmCo5/α-Fe nanocomposite permanent magnets prepared via a bottom up approach

Surfactant assist ball milling, chemical coating, and hot compaction techniques have been applied to prepare bulk anisotropic SmCo5/alpha-Fe nanocomposite permanent magnets. The effects of alpha-Fe content on the structure and magnetic properties of the magnets were studied. As the alpha-Fe content increases, the remanence of the magnets increases first, peaking at 5 wt.% of alpha-Fe content, then falls as the alpha-Fe content increases, while the coercive force of the magnets drops simultaneously. Crystal structure analysis shows that all the magnets exhibit noticeable c-axis crystal texture of SmCo5 phase. The SmCo5/alpha-Fe magnet with 5 wt.% alpha-Fe possesses M-2.3T of 78.68 emu/g, Mr of 70.03 emu/g, and Hci of 8.02 kOe. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.