Hydrogenation Disproportionation Desorption Recombination Processes Applied to NdFeB-, SmFe- and SmCo-Type Alloys

Abstract

Recent aspects of hydrogenation disproportionation desorption and recombination (HDDR) phenomena in NdFeB-, SmFe- and SmCo-type alloys are reviewed in this paper. The effects of additives on hydrogen sorption and magnetic properties are discussed. The possibilities of producing magnetically anisotropic NdFeB HDDR magnets by hot deformation or alternatively pre-aligning and compacting anisotropic powders are described. Current models for the inducement of magnetic anisotropy in NdFeB HDDR powder are summarized and it is shown that anisotropic powder can be produced from a ternary compound when using a modified processing route. The application of ‘extreme’ hydrogenation conditions, namely high hydrogen pressure or reactive milling in a hydrogen atmosphere at enhanced temperatures, allows the disproportionation of thermodynamically very stable compounds such as Sm₂Fe17−xGa_x (x≥l), SmCo₅ or Sm₂Co₁₇. Reactive milling and subsequent recombination in vacuum lead to structures, of both the disproportionated and the recombined type, which are on a remarkably finer scale than those commonly observed for standard HDDR procedures. Exchange coupling between the nano-scaled grains can result in magnetically single phase behavior despite a multiphase microstructure and in particular for the Sm₂Co17 alloy, a remanence enhancement was observed after recombination at temperatures ≤700°C.