Magnetic and Structural Characterization of Mo-Hitperm Alloys with Different Fe/Co Ratio

Abstract

The influence of the Co content on the microstructure and magnetic behaviour of a series of amorphous and nanocrystalline (FeCo) 79Mo8Cu1B12 alloys is reported. Changes in the magnetic properties provoked by the microstructural evolution upon different thermal treatments of as-cast samples are analyzed as well. Kinetics of nanocrystallization process can be described by an isokinetic approach. As the Co content in the alloy increases, the Curie temperature of the amorphous as-cast samples increases while the crystallization onset temperature decreases. The crystalline volume fraction as well as the mean grain size of the nanocrystals at the end of the nanocrystallization process are slightly higher for the lowest Co content alloy but smaller than in similar Hitperm Mo-free alloys. The average magnetic field and the average isomer shift of the as-cast samples show a linear increase with two slopes with the Co content of the alloy. The same tendency is found for the saturation magnetization. Combined TEM, XRD, and MS data indicate the presence of Mo atoms in the nanocrystals. At the end of the nanocrystallization process the softest magnetic behaviour corresponds to the lowest Co content alloy. The second crystallization process provokes a magnetic hardening of these alloys.