Journal of Materials Science, Vol.47, No.24, 8352-8359, 2012
Grain boundary wetting in the NdFeB-based hard magnetic alloys
Since the end of 1980s, NdFeB-based hard magnetic alloys have been the materials with the highest available magnetic performance. NdFeB-based magnets are produced either by liquid-phase sintering or by melt spinning. In the present investigation, NdFeB alloys quenched after annealing in the semi-liquid state are used to study the wetting of Nd2Fe14B grain boundaries by a Nd-rich liquid phase. It is shown that a transition from partial wetting to complete wetting occurs with increasing temperature. The results are compared with the data in the literature for NdFeB-based alloys processed by liquid-phase sintering. The relation between wetting properties and magnetic performance of these alloys is also discussed.