Structural and magnetic properties of the exchange-coupled PrFeB alloys

Abstract

Ribbons of the Pr4.5Fe77B18.5 alloys were produced by melt spinning and then annealed by flash or conventional annealing to develop enhanced-remanence nanocrystalline magnetic material. These materials were studied by magnetic measurements, x-ray, and neutron diffraction. Curie temperature measurements show that the phases present are Pr2Fe14,B Fe3B, α-Fe, and Pr2Fe23B3. Rietveld analyses of the neutron and the x-ray diffraction spectra showed that the main phases of these materials were Pr2Fe14B and Fe3B, Pr2Fe14B being the major phase (≈60%). Differences between the values of the lattice parameters of Pr2Fe14B in these materials may indicate that this phase is not stoichiometric.