Domain structure ordering and magnetic property enhancement of containerlessly processed quaternary Fe-Mo-Ni-Cr alloy

Quaternary Fe-20 %Mo-12 %Ni-6 %Cr alloy with various composite magnetic structures was fabricated through electromagnetic levitation (EML) coupled with multi-mode quenching techniques. The magnetic domain distributions were characterized and related to the macro/micro-magnetic properties of this containerlessly processed alloy. Under EML condition, nano-scale lamellar (αFe) + Fe₂Mo eutectoid structures with completely disordered magnetic domains were formed at small undercoolings. But the eutectoid morphology became anomalous and a ferromagnetic (αFe) single-phase zone with clear stripe domains appeared as undercooling increased, resulting in the obvious improvement of saturation magnetization, coercivity and residual magnetization. The (αFe) + Fe₂Mo eutectoid structures were entirely suppressed by multiple quenching processes to secure (αFe) single-phase microstructures with ordered domain distributions including the stripe domains with grain boundary contrast, the maze domains with developed branches and their coexistent mixtures. These magnetic structures displayed much higher saturation magnetization, much lower coercivity and almost unchanged residual magnetization as compared with the highly undercooled alloy at EML state, indicating that the soft magnetic property of this alloy was significantly enhanced after rapid quenching. Moreover, the spin distributions and atomic magnetic moments of two constituent phases were analyzed by first-principle calculations, which were in good accordance with the experimental results.