Investigation of the thermal and magnetic properties of Fe61Co10Zr2 Fe61Co10Zr2.5Hf2.5Me2W2B20 (Me = Y, Nb, W, Ti, Mo, Ni) bulk amorphous alloys obtained by an induction suction method

The microstructure, magnetic properties and thermal stability of Fe61Co10Zr2.5Hf2.5Me2W2B20 (Me = Y, Nb, W, Ti, Mo, Ni) alloys were investigated. The samples were obtained by an induction suction method as 0.5 mm thickness plates. The microstructure was examined using X-ray diffraction and Mössbauer spectroscopy. It was shown that the investigated samples have amorphous structure throughout the volumes of the samples. The magnetic properties were measured using a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer. The investigated alloys are soft magnetic materials with low coercivity field (from 5.8 A/m to 54 A/m) and high saturation of the magnetization (from 0.87 T to 1.26 T). The studies of thermal stability were performed using a differential scanning calorimeter. It was shown that the addition of respective atoms led to changes of Curie temperature in the range from 497 to 587 K, depending on the composition of the alloys.

Research highlights▶ All measured samples were amorphous throughout their volumes The most homogenous iron distribution was observed for Fe61Co10Zr2.5Hf2.5Y2W2B20 and Fe61Co10Zr2.5Hf2.5Mo2W2B20 alloys; all remaining BMGs displayed heterogeneous iron distribution. ▶ The best soft magnetic properties were exhibited by alloys with added Mo and Ni. The highest magnetization saturation was obtained for the alloy with Ni addition, the lowest coercivity field was obtained for an alloy with added Mo. ▶ The highest GFA was obtained for alloys with added Y and Nb. The addition of 2% of Ni led to a noticeable change in Curie temperature in comparison with the remaining alloys.