Single magnetic domain precipitates of Fe/Co and Fe and Co in Cu matrix produced from (Fe-Co)/Cu metastable alloys

Abstract

Structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline Fe2Co and (Fe2Co)0.30 Cu0.70 alloys prepared by high energy ball milling have been studied basically by x-ray, Mössbauer spectroscopy and magnetization measurements. For the Fe2Co alloy case, the Mössbauer measurements indicate that the sample with 160 hours of milling has two magnetic components with the same average hyperfine parameters: one magnetic crystalline component associated with the bcc Fe2Co phase and another component attributed to the small particles of the same bcc Fe2Co phase (SP-Fe2Co). (Fe2Co)0.30Cu0.70 alloys have been prepared by milling in two different ways: (1) starting from the mixture of Fe2Co milled alloy and pure Cu powders (sample I) and (2) milling of the elemental powder mixture of Fe, Co and Cu (sample II). The x-ray diffraction and bulk magnetization results of samples I and II indicate the formation of a (Fe2Co)0.30Cu0.70 supersaturated solid solution, with features of a ferromagnetic material and Tc at about (420±1) K. High temperature magnetization measurements of the (Fe/Co)Cu milled materials show particle precipitation effects. Heat treatment at 675 and 875 K of the final milled materials leads to different results: in the sample I case to the precipitation of single magnetic Fe/Co particles into the Cu matrix, and in the case of sample II the precipitation of single magnetic particles of Fe and of Co into the Cu matrix.