Feasibility Study of HDDR and Mechanical Milling Processes for Preparation of High Coercivity SmCo5Powder

Abstract

HDDR (hydrogenation, disproportionation, desorption, recombination) and mechanical milling processes have been applied to the <TEX>$SmCo_{5}$</TEX> alloy in an attempt to produce a highly coercive powder. The <TEX>$SmCo_{5}$</TEX> alloy had very high structural stability under the hydrogen atmosphere and the 1:5 phase was only partially disproportionated under up to 10 kgf/<TEX>$\textrm{cm}^2$</TEX> hydrogen gas. The partially disproportionated material was recombined not into 1:5 phase after the HDDR, but rather into multi-phase mixture consisting of 1:5, 2:17, 2:7 and 1:7 phases. The <TEX>$SmCo_{5}$</TEX> alloy HDDR-treated with hydrogen up to 10 kgf/<TEX>$\textrm{cm}^2$</TEX> had poor coercivity. For a useful HDDR to prepare a high coercivity <TEX>$SmCo_{5}$</TEX> alloy powder, much higher hydrogen pressure well exceeding 10 kgf/<TEX>$\textrm{cm}^2$</TEX> would be required. The <TEX>$SmCo_{5}$</TEX> alloy lump was amorphized by an intensive mechanical milling, and it was crystallised ultra-finely by a subsequent optimum annealing. The optimally annealed material had very high coercivity, and it was found that the mechanical milling followed by an annealing was an effective way of producing highly coercive <TEX>$SmCo_{5}$</TEX> alloy powder.