CMI researchers at Ames Laboratory conducted the activity for this highlight
Innovation
Enhanced performance – 17 MG-Oe – resulting from control over particle crystallinity and size and minimizing particle agglomeration during synthesis.
Achievement
Mechanochemically-assisted reduction-diffusion synthesis of Sm2Fe17 powders eliminates SmO1-xNx impurities, leads to improved alignment of nitrogenated particles and yields the highest to date energy product BHmax = 17.4 MGOe for Sm2Fe17N3
Significance and Impact
- Criticality and cost: the material is mostly Fe (~74% wt.%) and contains non-critical rare earth, Sm, as well as other earth-abundant constituents
- When fully developed, thermally-stable Sm2Fe17N3–based materials are expected to become competitive with sintered Nd2Fe14B-based magnets
Hub Goal Addressed
Reducing critical rare-earth content in permanent magnets.