Microstructure and magnetic properties of multi-main-phase Ce-Fe-B spark plasma sintered magnets by dual alloy method

Abstract Ce-Fe-B spark plasma sintered (SPSed) magnets prepared with different ratio of alloys of Ce-Fe-B and Pr-Nd-Fe-B by dual alloy method are investigated in this paper. As expected, the remanent magnetization J r , coercivity H ci and maximum energy product ( BH ) max of SPSed magnets increase obviously with increasing weight percentage of Pr-Nd-Fe-B alloy. The magnetic properties of J r  = 0.71 T, H ci  = 915 kA/m, ( BH ) max  = 72 kJ/m 3 are obtained for the SPSed magnets with 80 wt% Pr-Nd-Fe-B alloy. There are three Curie temperatures in this type magnet, which implies the coexistence of three hard magnetic phases. The second Curie temperature depends on the Pr-Nd-Fe-B content. With increasing Pr-Nd-Fe-B alloy content, the volume fraction and width of coarse grain zone decrease. It is shown by the microstructure analysis that the rare earth elements diffuse during sintering process resulting in the formation of Pr-Nd-Ce-Fe-B hard magnetic phase. The intergranular exchange coupling strength is enhanced with increasing Pr-Nd-Fe-B content. The present research may be a potential reference for further research and development of this type Ce-containing nanocrystalline permanent magnetic materials.