Enhancement of hard magnetism and chemical order of synthetic L10-FeNi

An ordered tetragonal L1 ₀-FeNi, also known as meteoritic mineral tetrataenite – a promising rare-earth-free hard-magnetic compound – has been synthesized starting from a mechanochemically-activated disordered cubic A1-FeNi via formation of a chemically-ordered FeNiN intermediate and its subsequent denitrogenation and further purification of the product. The nature of a process control agent employed during the mechanochemical activation of A1-FeNi and ammonia flow velocity during the synthesis of the intermediate are two of the main factors controlling the nitrogenation. Denitrogenation with hydrogen at elevated pressures and at temperatures substantially below the order-disorder L1 ₀-FeNi → A 1-FeNi transition preserves the chemical order established in the intermediate nitride. Post-synthesis refinement of the L1 ₀-FeNi product includes the removal of residual nitrides with a dilute acid to further improve hard-magnetic properties of the material. The L1 ₀ -FeNi powders synthesized using this method exhibit a coercivity as high as 2.3 kOe and a maximum energy product reaching 6 MGOe – the highest values ever reported for a synthetic tetrataenite.