Effect of Dy substitution on the microstructure and magnetic properties of nanograin Nd-Fe-B single-phase alloys

Nanocrystalline single-phase alloys with the nominal compositions (at%) of Nd_12.3-xDy_xFe_79.7Zr_0.8Nb_0.8Cu_0.4B_6.0 (x=0, 0.5, 1.5, and 2.5) were prepared by melt-spinning and subsequent annealing. X-ray diffraction analysis shows that the as-spun ribbons were mainly composed of the amorphous phase. A slight content of Dy stabilizes the amorphous phase during annealing treatment. The grain size becomes smaller and the coercivity of the annealed ribbon is gradually improved with the increase of Dy content. Excessive Dy is harmful to the remanence. It is found that no intergranular phase exists between the grains by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and the grain boundaries are crystallographically coherent in the optimally annealed sample. The optimum magnetic properties of remanence (J_r=1.09 T), coercivity (H_ci=1048 kA/m), and maximum magnetic energy product ((BH)_m=169.5 kJ/m³) are obtained from the x=0.5 ribbon in a post heat-treated state (700℃, 10 min).