Preparation and Magnetic Properties of Sub-Micrometer Sized Sm-Co Powders Prepared From Nanostructured Precursor Oxides

Submicrometer-sized Sm-Co powders have been prepared by the calciothermic reduction and subsequent solid-state diffusion of a nanostructured Sm-Co-O/Co-O precursor. The Sm and Co containing precursor was prepared by an autocombustion process. X-ray diffraction identified the product as a mixture of SmCoO3 and Co4 O4. This powder was mixed in a 1:2 mass ratio with CaO (which served as a thermal bal...