Strategies for the Synthesis of Nanostructured SmCo₅ Magnetic Particles for Permanent Magnetic Application

Hard magnetic materials based on SmCo 5, known for their high coercivity, have found extensive applications in advanced technologies. To further enhance their magnetic performance, it is advantageous to reduce the particle size slightly below the single-domain limit and modify the shape to a one-dimensional (1D) structure. Here, two strategies were introduced with the aim to synthesize the anisotropic SmCo 5 nanostructured magnetic powder. The first approach involving electrospinning and reduction-diffusion failed to generate the desired one-dimensional structure, resulting in zero-dimensional (0D) SmCo 5 spherical particles with a coercivity of 34.5 kOe and a maximum magnetic energy product of 14 MGOe. In contrast, the second approach, which combines the modified polyol process with reduction-diffusion, yielded a SmCo 5 magnetic powder with two distinct morphologies: zero-dimensional spherical particles and one-dimensional nanofibers. The SmCo 5 magnetic powder synthesized by the second method exhibits a coercivity of 47.2 kOe and a maximum magnetic energy product of 17 MGOe, significantly exceeding those reported for zero-dimensional spherical SmCo 5 nanoparticles. This high-performance SmCo 5 magnetic powder holds considerable promise for high-density data storage and permanent magnet applications. Moreover, it provides avenues for developing exchange-coupled nanocomposite magnets with a high energy density. The findings of this study may serve as the foundation for exploiting anisotropic SmCo 5 nanomagnets and hold significant implications for the design of advanced magnetic materials using the reduction-diffusion method.