Abstract
This work reports on the effect of the heavy rare earth element Er on Nd-Fe-B magnets by using a simple Er(69)Fe(31) alloy additive, which is much less expensive than Dy and Tb elements. It was found that the corrosion resistance was improved with a minimal reduction in magnetic properties by rationally controlling the Er(69)Fe(31) addition content. The main reason is that Er element partially replaces the Nd element at the edge of the main phase grain to form an (Er,Nd)(2)Fe(14)B shell with low H(A), which leads to a decrease in coercivity. However, the improvement in the corrosion resistance is mainly due to the Er(69)Fe(31) alloy addition, which slows down the corrosion rate. Simultaneously, an investigation was conducted into the different advantages that target magnets when subjected to diverse heat treatment methodologies. The above findings may lead to the development of applications for other rare earth elements, thereby accelerating the development of low-cost permanent magnets comparable to commercially available sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets.