Coercivity Enhancement of Sintered Nd-Fe-B Magnets by Grain Boundary Diffusion with DyH3 Nanoparticles

Grain boundary diffusion technique with $DyH_3$ nanoparticles was applied to fabricate Dy-less sintered Nd-Fe-B permanent magnets with high coercivity. The magnetic properties and microstructure of magnets were systematically studied. The coercivity and remanence of grain boundary diffusion magnet were improved by 60% and reduced by 7% compared with those of the original magnet, respectively. Meanwhile, both the remanence temperature coefficient (${\alpha}$) and the coercivity temperature coefficient (${\beta}$) of the magnets were improved after diffusion treatment. Investigation shows that Dy is preferentially enriched as (Nd, Dy)$_2Fe_{14}B$ phase in the surface region of the $Nd_2Fe_{14}B$ matrix grains indicated by the remarkable enhancement of the magneto-crystalline anisotropy field of the magnet. As a result, the magnet diffused with a small amount of Dy nanoparticles possesses enhanced coercivity without remarkably sacrificing its magnetization.