Tailoring the Impact Toughness of Sintered NdFeB Magnets via Surface Coating

Abstract

Metallic coating by electroplating is commonly attractive for improving the corrosion resistance of sintered NdFeB magnets. However, its tailoring of mechanical characteristics for sintered NdFeB magnets has been seldom concerned. Herein, the impact toughnesses of sintered NdFeB magnets with various metallic coatings (Ni or Ni/Sn) were comparatively investigated. The results indicate that the impact toughnesses of sintered NdFeB magnets are both improved by Ni coating and Ni/Sn bilayer coating. And Ni/Sn bilayer coating exhibits more enhancement of the impact toughness, increased by 41.6% compared with the original magnet. Moreover, the microstructural observations of the metallic coatings and the fracture were conducted, and the enhanced mechanism of impact toughness for the magnet is analyzed. These findings may provide a reference for toughening the brittle materials.