Solid-liquid phase separation diffused Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets by using DyH3 nanopowder realize high-efficiency coercivity improvement and overcome thickness limit

In this study, new grain boundary diffusion (GBD) technology is applied to Nd-Fe-B sintered magnets with different thicknesses utilizing DyH3 nanopowder. The weight ratio is 0.25 wt.%. For comparison, the GBD processes include solid-liquid phase separation diffusion (SepD) and solid-liquid phase simultaneous diffusion (SimD). The magnetic properties and microstructure of GBD magnets with different thicknesses are thoroughly investigated. The comprehensive magnetic properties of SepD magnets are higher than SimD magnets. When the magnets are 8 mm thick, the SepD magnet obtains a coercivity of 18.10 kOe, which is higher than the SimD magnets (17.00 kOe). It was determined that SepD can manufacture thick magnets with excellent coercivity. In SepD magnets, the Dy element diffusion distance is deeper than in SimD magnets. For SepD magnets, there are core-shell structures formed in the surface region, while there are anti-core-shell structures that are unfavorable to magnetic properties in the surface region of the SimD magnets. The enhanced coercivity and temperature stability of the SepD magnets is primarily due to the more continuous core-shell structures produced by the deeper diffusion depth of the Dy element. This study will provide more theoretical guidance for the application of SepD in magnets with different thicknesses.