The effect of Mn on the structural and magnetic behaviour of Fe–6Si–8B alloy produced by high energy ball milling

The alloys of Fe–6Si–8B and Fe–6Si–8B–1Mn were prepared using high energy planetary ball mill. X-ray diffraction patterns of the milled samples confirmed the formation of the alloys by dissolution of Si in Fe after 30 and 24 h of milling for the Fe–6Si–8B and Fe–6Si–8B–1Mn samples respectively. The lattice parameter was found to increase continuously with milling time and the rise was steeper for the quaternary alloy. After 36 h of milling, the crystallite size for the two samples were reduced to 98 and 86 nm respectively. Mossbauer spectra suggested the formation of minor amount of α-Fe2O3. The value of saturation magnetization was 162 Am2/kg for Fe–6Si–8B alloy obtained after 18 h of milling. However, the value decreased with increased milling time as well as with Mn-addition. The remanance value showed similar tendency as that for saturation magnetization. In contrast, the coercivity value was found to be increasing with milling time and with Mn-addition