Dependence of magnetic properties with structural/microstructural parameters of ball-milled Fe15Co2P3 powder mixture

Abstract

This research work aims to investigate the mechanical alloying of Fe15Co2P3 powder mixture in terms of phases’ formation, microstructural parameters, and magnetic properties as function of milling time. Parametric Rietveld refinement method, of the obtained X-ray patterns, was performed for qualitative and quantitative phase analysis alongside the determination of structural, microstructural, and mechanical properties. The ball-milled powder mixture crystallized within the face-centered cubic α-Fe(P) solid solution in equilibrium with Co75Fe25 phase. The crystallite size decreases reaching 100 and 200 nm respectively after 3 h of milling. The highest values of the dislocation density, microstrain, and stored energy are registered for the α-Fe(P) solid solution. The studied mechanical properties manifest the brittle nature of the α-Fe(P) solid solution compared to the Co75Fe25 phase. The squareness ratio Mr/Ms and the coercivity values of the milled powders increase with increasing milling time and reach steady state after 2 h. The hysteresis loss energy and maximum permeability reach minimal values of 45 × 10−4 W/m3 and 49 × 10−3 H/m respectively, after 1 h of milling at the opposite of the switching field distribution. The obtained results demonstrate the formation of nanostructured Fe15Co2P3 ternary alloy with optimum characteristics as promising candidate for diverse applications primarily in the biomedical field for diagnostics and therapeutics such as magnetic hyperthermia and vector probes for future imaging technologies.