A comparative study of magnetoresistance and magnetic structure in recycled vs. virgin NdFeB-type sintered magnets

Recycled NdFeB magnets are emerging as a viable alternative to virgin NdFeB, because of lower production costs and environmental impacts. Recycled NdFeB magnets produced via the recently reported magnet-to-magnet (m2 m™) recycling process display unanticipated enhancements of magnetic and physical properties that may arise because of their unique microstructure. In the present study, we compare electrical transport and magnetic properties of these recycled magnets (Grade: N42SH, Br = 1289 mT, Hcj = 1876 kA/m, BHmax = 323.4 kJ/m3, Dy content = 4.0 wt%) with an equivalent grade of commercial NdFeB magnet produced from virgin material by conventional techniques (Grade: N42SH, Br = 1215 mT, Hcj = 1943 kA/m, BHmax = 285.0 kJ/m3, with Dy content = 4.6 wt%). Atomic force microscopy (AFM) and magnetic force microscopy (MFM) analyses revealed very similar surface morphology and magnetic structure for the virgin and recycled samples. However, bulk electrical transport measurements demonstrated a 27% enhancement in the resistivity of the recycled magnets. This suggests that the electrical properties of NdFeB alloys are enhanced during Grain Boundary Engineering™ (GBE™). Moreover, point-contact measurements, used to probe the electrical transport properties on the microscopic scale, found similar results to those of the bulk measurements.