Preparation and magnetic properties of MnBi-based hard/soft composite magnets

Bulk anisotropic composite magnets based on MnBi/Co(Fe) exhibiting the different morphology of the soft magnetic phase were prepared by powder metallurgy processing. First, single-phase MnBi bulk magnets were produced with a maximum energy product [(BH)m] of 6.3 MGOe at room temperature. The nanoscale soft phase with the different morphology was then added to form a composite magnet. It was observed that addition of magnetic soft-phase nanoflakes causes a dramatic coercivity reduction. However, the addition of soft magnetic phase nanowires enhanced the composite magnetization without sacrificing the coercivity. Nevertheless, a kink was still observed on the demagnetization curves and the coercivity decreased when the soft-phase content was larger than 10 wt. %, which was caused by the agglomeration of the soft phase nanowires that also led to a decreased degree of texture.