57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry: A powerful technique to analyze the magnetic and phase characteristics in RE–Fe–B permanent magnets*

Abstract

This review summarizes the recent advances on the application of 57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry to study the magnetic and phase characteristics of Nd–Fe–B-based permanent magnets. First of all, the hyperfine structures of the Ce2Fe14B, (Ce, Nd)2Fe14B and MM2Fe14B phases are well-defined by using the model based on the Wigner-Seitz analysis of the crystal structure. The results show that the isomer shift δ and the quadrupole splitting ΔE Q of those 2:14:1 phases show minor changes with the Nd content, while the hyperfine field B hf increases monotonically with increasing Nd content and its value is influenced by the element segregation and phase separation in the 2:14:1 phase. Then, the hyperfine structures of the low fraction secondary phases are determined by the 57Fe Mössbauer spectrometry due to its high sensitivity. On this basis, the content, magnetic behavior, and magnetization of the REFe2 phase, the amorphous grain boundary (GB) phase, and the amorphous worm-like phase, as well as their effects on the magnetic properties, are systematically studied.