Effect of alloying with Sc, Nb and Zr on reduction-diffusion synthesis of magnetically hard Sm(Fe,Co,Ti)12-based monocrystalline powders

Powders of Sm(Fe,Co)11.2Ti0.8 alloys modified with Sc, Nb and Zr, as well as with additional Ti were prepared by reducing mechanically activated raw oxides with Ca metal in the furnace preheated to 990–1250 °C. Expansion of the crystal lattice upon introduction of Nb or additional Ti implies that atoms of these elements replace the smaller Fe atoms in the tetragonal ThMn12-type structure. On the other hand, contraction of the lattice upon introduction of Sc or Zr was smaller than what was expected for replacement of the Sm atoms, which suggests that the Sc and Zr atoms replace both the Sm and Fe atoms. Washing away the reduction byproducts expands the crystal lattice of the 1:12 particles and increases their coercivity. The lattice expansion associated with the washing is believed to be caused by interstitial H atoms; more research, however, is needed to establish the mechanism(s) of the washing effect on the coercivity. The earlier reported development of a high coercivity in zirconium-modified monocrystalline particles achieved by increasing the reduction annealing temperature to ≈1200 °C was similarly characteristic of the particles modified with Sc (the coercivity reaches 11.5 kOe) and Nb (8.1 kOe), but not for the particles prepared with additional Ti where the maximum coercivity of 8.3 kOe develops for a lower annealing temperature. It is concluded that Sc, Nb and Zr modify the high-temperature phase equilibria of the Sm(Fe,Co)11.2Ti0.8 alloys allowing for an effective high-temperature processing, whereas the alloy coercivity increases with the synthesis temperature through a different, still unknown mechanism which may involve suppression of the defects specific to the 1:12 crystals.