Development of crystallography texture in SmCo7/α-Fe nanocomposite magnets prepared by high-pressure thermal compression

Understanding the formation mechanism of crystallography texture for hard magnetic nanocrystals in bulk materials is of great significance for developing high-performance nanocomposite magnets. Here, we studied the texture formation of SmCo7 crystal in bulk SmCo7/Fe(Co) nanocomposites prepared by high-pressure thermal compression (HPTC) using different precursors. We found that amorphous precursors favored a (00l) texture of SmCo7 nanocrystals and an obvious magnetic anisotropy, amorphous + crystalline precursors resulted in a weak (00l) texture and weak magnetic anisotropy, and nanocrystalline precursors led to isotropic SmCo7 grains and magnetic isotropy. These results demonstrate that grain alignment of SmCo7 phase in the HPTC process results from its preferential growth in the amorphous matrix under high stress and large strain. This work provides new insight into the texture growth of hard magnetic nanocrystals in bulk materials.