Effects of oxygen and carbon on the magnetic properties and micro-structure of Sm2Co17 permanent magnets

The research on the sintered Sm2Co17 Permanent magnets prepared by metal injection molding is still at the exploratory stage. Carbon and oxygen are two key factors that influence the magnetic properties. In this article, the effects of oxygen and carbon on the properties and microstructure of the magnets have been studied. The results indicate that oxygen consumes the effective Sm content of the magnets and forms Sm2O3-the non-magnetism phase, which result in the deterioration of the magnetic properties. Besides, the magnetic properties decrease in evidence with increasing carbon content. The main factor that affects the magnetic properties is the deterioration of the microstructure of the magnets. The Sm(Co, Cu)5 phase decreases, whereas the cell size increases with the increase of the carbon content. When the carbon content is above 0.43 wt.%, the Sm(Co, Cu)5 phase is not enough to form a uniform cellular microstructure. Thus the magnetic properties disappear. ZrC is detected in the magnets by XRD when the carbon content is above 0.21 wt.%. ZrC also reduces the properties of the magnets.