Structural and magnetic properties of Fe73.5Cu1Nb3−xTixSi13.5B9 (x ≤ 3) alloys

Fe73.5Cu1Nb3−xTixSi13.5B9 (x = 0, 1, 2, 3) amorphous ribbons were prepared by melt spinning technique, then subjected to isothermal treatments for 1 h at 500 and 550 °C, respectively. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements show that the α-Fe(Si) phase can be formed over a wider temperature with the increase of Ti content, from 156 °C for x = 0 to 164 °C for x = 3. Volume fraction of nanocrystalline α-Fe(Si) phase also increases with the increase of Ti content after annealing at 500 and 550 °C for 1 h, which is beneficial to enhance the ferromagnetic exchanging coupling in the alloys. DO3 ordered superstructure phase formed in the samples with Ti content of 2% and 3%. Better soft magnetic properties were obtained after annealing for 1 h at 550 °C than at 500 °C, accompanied by the enhancement of saturation magnetization from 140.68 emu/g for x = 0 to 148.87 emu/g for x = 3 and the reduction of coercivity from 3.194 G for x = 0 to 1.151 G for x = 3.