Biblio

Hexagonal CdS and Fe-doped CdS nanorods were synthesised by a facile hydrothermal method and characterised by X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, UV-vis absorption, photoluminescence, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The magnetic properties of undoped and Fe-doped CdS nanorods were investigated at room temperature. The experimental results demonstrate that the ferromagnetism of the Fe-doped CdS nanorods differs from that of the undoped CdS nanorods. The remanence magnetisation (Mr) and the coercive field (Hc) of the Fe-doped CdS nanorods were 4.9 × 10-3 emu/g and 270.6 Oe, respectively, while photoluminescence properties were not influenced by doping. First-principle calculations show that the ferromagnetism in Fe-doped CdS nanocrystal arose not only from the Fe dopants but also from the Cd vacancies, although the main contribution was due to the Fe dopants.

The discovery of the interstitial rare earth nitride Sm2Fe17N3 came about seven years after the discovery of the rare earth iron boride Nd2Fe [1],[2], and the nitride initially seemed to offer intrinsic magnetic properties that were superior (Curie temperature TC, magnetocrystalline anisotropy K1 or comparable (spontaneous magnetization Ms to those of its illustrious predecessor. However, the promise of the new material to seriously challenge Nd2Fe14B was not realized. The 2:17 nitride powder, prepared by a low-temperature gas-phase interstitial modification process proved difficult to orient and worse still, it lost its nitrogen at the temperatures needed to process dense sintered magnets [3]. Attempts at explosive compaction [4] or spark sintering [5] failed to yield material with good enough coercivity. Nevertheless, work continued in Japan and China to develop a coercive powder that could be used for bonded magnets. An early realization was zinc-bonded Sm2Fe17N3 [6] with an energy product of 84 kJm3 but a rather low coercivity of 480 kAm-1, less than 5 % of the anisotropy field (Ha = 2K1/Ms ≈ 11 MAm-1). The anisotropy field of Nd2Fe14B is significantly less (6 MAm-1) yet several decades of intensive development have led to higher values and continuous improvements of the coercivity, even in unsubstituted material. Historical experience with permanent magnets shows that a long period of materials development is needed to arrive at the best composition and processing conditions for a microstructure that allows the hard magnetism to be optimized. Coercivities of about 25% of the anisotropy field are ultimately achieved. Here we compare the magnetic properties of melt-spun material. Our Nitroquench powder, produced by Daido Steel, was in the form of flakes 10 μm thick and up to 100 μm in diameter. A crystal-lite size of approximately 15 nm deduced from Scherrer broadening of the X-ray reflections. Composition was checked by EDX microprobe analysis. Hysteresis loops have been measured in applied fields of up to 14 T, at room temperature and at 4 K.The material exhibits a room-temperature coercivity of 690 kAm-1 after saturation in 14 T, with a remanence of 700 kAm-1 in zero applied field and an extrapolated saturation magnetization of 1230 kAm-1. The remanence ratio Mr/Ms of 63% when the remanence is corrected to zero internal field, is reflected in a preferred orientation seen in the X-ray powder diffraction patterns and in 57Fe Mössbauer spectra of magnetized powder. Spectra obtained after saturation of an immobilized powder absorber either in-plane or perpendicular to the sample plane exhibit distinctly different relative intensities of the ΔM=0 absorption lines. The maximum energy product for the powder, assuming full density, is 162 kJm-3. The remanence enhancement is attributed to fact that the nanocrystallite size is not much greater than the exchange length. Melt-spun Sm-Fe-N powder has superior corrosion resistance and thermal stability compared to melt-spun Nd-Fe-B. The Nitroquench powder may be used to produce polymer-bonded magnets with an energy product in excess of 100 kJm-3.

Alternatives to rare earth permanent magnets, such as alnico, will reduce supply instability, increase sustainability, and could decrease the cost of permanent magnets, especially for high-temperature applications, such as traction drive motors. Alnico magnets with moderate coercivity, high remanence, and relatively high-energy product are conventionally processed by directional solidification and (significant) final machining, contributing to increased costs and additional material waste. Additive manufacturing (AM) is developing as a cost effective method to build net-shape 3-D parts with minimal final machining and properties comparable to wrought parts. This paper describes initial studies of net-shape fabrication of alnico magnets by AM using a laser engineered net shaping (LENS) system. High-pressure gas atomized pre-alloyed powders of two different modified alnico “8” compositions, with high purity and sphericity, were built into cylinders using the LENS process, and followed by heat treatment. The magnetic properties showed improvement over their cast and sintered counterparts. The resulting alnico permanent magnets were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy, electron backscatter diffraction, and hysteresisgraph measurements. These results display the potential for net-shape processing of alnico permanent magnets for use in next generation traction-drive motors and other applications requiring high temperatures and/or complex engineered part geometries.