Low temperature synthesis of Sm-Fe alloy powder by reduction-diffusion process using new reductant of Li-Ca eutectic melt

In this study, the low-temperature reduction-diffusion (LTRD) process using a Li-Ca reductant, which has a low eutectic point of about 230 °C, was demonstrated. The RD reaction was possible at a very low temperature of 400 °C significantly less than 850 °C, which is the lowest practicable temperature of the conventional RD process, by identifying the production of the SmFe2 phase. The LTRD process in this study also made it possible to investigate the Sm-Fe binary phases synthesized at the low temperature and the Sm-Fe phase transitions depending on the temperatures with the compositions of Sm and Fe.