Observations of the surface domain structure (Kerr-effect), optical metallography, scanning electron microscopy (SEM-SE), and electron microprobe analysis (EPMA-SEM), measurements of major and minor magnetic hysteretic loops were used to study pseudo-single-crystal samples of (Sm,Zr)(Co,Cu,Fe)z alloys subjected to heat treatments to the high-coercivity state, which are used in fabricating sintered permanent magnets. Correlations between the chemical composition, hysteretic properties, structural components, domain structure, and phase state were determined for the concentration ranges that ensure wide variations of 4f-/4d-/3d-element ratio in the studied samples. The phase state formed by collinear and coherent phase components determines the high coercive force and ultimate magnetic hysteresis loops of the pseudo-single crystals. It was found that the 1:5 phase with the hexagonal structure (P6/mmm) is the matrix of the alloys for (Sm,Zr)(Co,Cu,Fe)z permanent magnets; the matrix undergoes phase transformations in the course of all heat treatments for the high-coercivity state. The heterogeneity observed with optical magnifications, namely, the observation of main structural components A and B, is due to the alternation, within the common matrix, of regions with modulated quasi-spherical precipitates and regions with hexagonal bipyramids (cellular phase) although, traditionally, many investigators consider the cellular phase as the matrix. It is shown that the relationship of volume fractions of structural components A and B that account for more than 0.9 volume fraction of the total, which is due to the integral chemical composition of the alloys, determines the main hysteretic performances of the samples. The Zr-rich phases, such as 5:19, 2:7, and 6:23, and a structural component with the variable stoichiometry (Sm(Co,Cu,Fe)3.5-5) that is almost free of Zr and contains up to 33 at% Cu, were found only within structural component A in quantities sufficient for EPMA analysis.
Keywords: Sm–Co permanent magnet alloys; composition–structure–properties correlations; high-coercivity structure; magnetic hardening.