Nitridation kinetics of Sm2Fe17 probed using Mössbauer spectroscopy

Abstract

In this study, the Sm2Fe17 powder was subjected to nitridation at 743 K under N2 pressures of 0.05 and 0.1 MPa to investigate the growth kinetics of Sm–Fe–N. Two-phase growth of the fully nitride (FN) Sm2Fe17N3 phase and the nitrogen-poor (NP) Sm2Fe17Nx phase (0 < x < 3; x denotes the nitrogen content) was observed using 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. Although the x value was greater at 0.05 MPa than at 0.1 MPa in the early stage of nitridation, the opposite trend was observed in the later stage. At a nitrogenation time of 24 h, nitridation was nearly complete at 0.1 MPa, while x tended to saturate and did not reach 3 at 0.05 MPa. The nitridation process was discussed based on two simultaneous growth processes: (i) the diffusion of the nitrogen atom in the NP phase and (ii) the nucleation and growth of the FN phase. A process combining N2 pressure and nitrogenation, which facilitated nitrogenation under low N2 pressure and high N2 pressure at the beginning and end of the nitridation process, respectively, achieved faster nitridation than process with a single N2 pressure.