In the present study, the phase constitution, microstructure and magnetic properties of the nanocrystalline magnets, derived from fully amorphous or partially crystalline samples by annealing, were analyzed and compared. The melt-spun ribbons (with a thickness of ~30 µm) and suction-cast 0.5 mm and 1 mm thick plates of the Pr9Fe50Co13Zr1Nb4B23 alloy were soft magnetic in the as-cast state. In order to modify their magnetic properties, the annealing process was carried out at various temperatures from 923K to 1033K for 5 min. The Rietveld refinement of X-ray diffraction patterns combined with the partial or no known crystal structures (PONKCS) method allowed one to quantify the component phases and calculate their crystalline grain sizes. It was shown that the volume fraction of constituent phases and their crystallite sizes for the samples annealed at a particular temperature, dependent on the rapid solidification conditions, and thus a presence or absence of the crystallization nuclei in the as-cast state. Additionally, a thermomagnetic analysis was used as a complementary method to confirm the phase constitution. The hysteresis loops have shown that most of the samples exhibit a remanence enhancement typical for the soft/hard magnetic nanocomposite. Moreover, for the plates annealed at the lowest temperatures, the highest coercivities up to ~1150 kA/m were measured.
Keywords: RE-Fe-B magnets; Rietveld analysis; bulk metallic glasses; bulk nanostructured magnets; devitrification annealing; hard magnetic materials; magnetic properties; miniature magnets; rapid solidification.