Preparation and Magnetic Properties of Anisotropic (Sm,Pr)Co5/Fe Nanocomposites Particles via Electroless Plating

Anisotropic (Sm,Pr)Co-5/Fe nanocomposites particles were prepared by electroless plating iron on the surface of (Sm,Pr)Co-5 nanoflakes after being prepared by ball milling for 4 h. A uniform and continuous coating layer was obtained due to the addition of complexing agent and the particle size of the reduced Fe particles was in the range of 10 similar to 20 nm. When the nominal addition of Fe was 15 wt%, the nanocomposites show enhanced remnant and saturation magnetization: M-r = 53.35 emu/g, M-s = 73.08 emu/g compared to the noncoated nanoflakes with M-r = 48.52 emu/g, M-s = 60.15 emu/g, while the coercivity drops from 10.33 kOe to 8.89 kOe. The effect of Fe content on the magnetic properties of the magnets is also discussed.