The structure and magnetic properties of Sm-Fe-N powders prepared by ball milling at low temperature

Sm-Fe-N powders have great potential to be used for preparing high-performance bonded permanent magnets because of their high anisotropy field and large saturation magnetization. In this work, we report the morphology, structure, oxygen content and magnetic properties of the Sm-Fe-N powders prepared by high energy ball milling at low temperature. Compared with the samples milled at room temperature, the Sm-Fe-N powders prepared at low temperature display more homogeneous morphology, less decomposition, lower oxygen content, and therefore enhanced magnetic performance. Our experimental results indicate that the low temperature milling will be a promising method for fabricating Sm-Fe-N bonded magnets with high-performance.