Direct chemical synthesis of high coercivity air-stable SmCo nanoblades

Ferromagnetic air-stable SmCo nanoparticles have been produced directly using a one-step chemical synthesis method. X-ray diffraction studies confirmed the formation of hexagonal Sm Co 5 as a dominant phase. High resolution transmission electron microscopy confirms the presence of uniform, anisotropic bladelike nanoparticles approximately 10 nm in width and 100 nm in length. Values of the intrinsic coercivity and the magnetization in the as-synthesized particles are 6.1 kOe and 40 emu ∕ g at room temperature and 8.5 kOe and 44 emu ∕ g at 10 K , respectively. This direct synthesis process is environmentally friendly and is readily scalable to large volume synthesis to meet the needs for the myriad of advanced permanent magnet applications.