Magnetic properties of TbFe2 particles prepared by magnetic field assisted ball milling

The alloy of TbFe2 was studied by ball milling with and without the presence of external magnetic field. While the structure and powder morphology of the alloy were investigated using scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction, the magnetization was investigated using vibrating sample and superconducting quantum interference device magnetometers. The rate of particle reduction with ball milling is comparatively higher in the presence of external magnetic field than without it. Consequently, owing to a large fraction of particles acquiring near single domain configuration under the field assisted milling condition, the coercivity derived from these particles are as high as 6500 Oe than that of particles obtained without the aid of external magnetic field which is around 3850 Oe. The field cooled low temperature magnetization exhibits a large coercivity and skew in the shape of the magnetization curve due to the large anisotropy. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.