Microstructure and Magnetic Properties of Grain Refined Pr2Co14B Melt-Spun Ribbons

Abstract

The correlation between the grain refining effect of TiC on the microstructure of Pr2Co14B melt-spun ribbons and the magnetic properties is presented in this study. TiC enabled greater control of microstructure both in the as-spun and heat treated Pr2Co14B, compared with the material without TiC. As a result, coercivity of the sample with TiC was nearly twice that of the sample without TiC. In addition to Pr2Co14B, two other phases were found in the sample with TiC: one rich in Co and the other having a composition near PrCo2. TiC was found near the grain boundaries and at triple junctions. Also no Ti or C was found in the matrix phase indicating extreme low solubility of the elements when both are present with Pr2Co14B. As expected, both the samples with and without TiC have similar anisotropy field but the presence of room temperature non-ferromagnetic phases (TiC and PrCo2), caused a small decrease in magnetization of the sample with TiC although the romance of the isotropic materials were comparable.