Preparation and Magnetic Properties of Nanocrystal Bulk SmCo7 Magnets

Two kinds of 2:17R Sm-Co alloys, Sm2(Fe,Cu,Zr,Co)17 and pure binary Sm2Co17 were prepared, and the amorphous powder was prepared by high-energy ball milling Sm-Co alloys. The bulk nanocrystalline SmCo7 was prepared by hot-pressing the amorphous powder, and the magnetic properties and phase composition were studied. Initial Sm2(Fe,Cu,Zr,Co)17 showed a large value of coercivity while the pure Sm2Co17 almost showed no coercivity. However, after ball milling the grain size of alloys decreased dramatically until completely amorphous. Two kinds of alloys showed the different phase composition and magnetic properties after hot-pressing. It was found that the pure Sm2Co17 bulk magnet showed a high coercivity Hc and had the 1:7H phase. On the other hand, the Sm2(Fe,Cu,Zr,Co)17 showed high saturation magnetization Ms and very low Hc since the Fe-Co and Sm2Co3 phase were precipitated from the alloy.