Sign in Subscribe
Nanotechnology

Rare-Earth-Free Materials for Advanced Nanotechnology

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Researchers from the University of Duisburg-Essen, in collaboration with international partners, have developed a novel approach to creating rare-earth-free materials with tunable magnetic properties for nanoscale applications. This breakthrough has significant implications for the advancement of technology, particularly in magnetocaloric refrigeration, magnetic sensors, and actuators. The research, funded by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, demonstrates the potential for cost-effective and scalable methods to produce these materials.

Key Takeaways:

  • The researchers have developed a comprehensive synthesis approach for rare-earth-free compositionally complex alloys (CCAs) with magnetic phase transitions, spanning from bulk materials to nanoparticles.
  • The bulk materials are prepared by ball milling and spark plasma sintering or powder pressing and sintering, while nanoparticles are synthesized by pulsed laser ablation in liquid.
  • Magnetization measurements confirm a ferromagnetic-to-paramagnetic phase transition in bulk alloys, with critical temperatures of 179 K for Ge-based CCA and 263 K for Al-based CCA.
  • At the nanoscale, both Ge- and Al-based nanoparticles exhibit superparamagnetic behavior, with blocking temperatures of 120 K and 100 K, respectively.
  • The Al-based CCA demonstrates a promising, cost-effective alternative to Ge-based CCA at the nanoscale, providing an economically viable and cost-effective alternative for nanoscale-based applications.
  • The research involves a collaboration between Tatiana Smoliarova, Faculty of Physics and Center for Nanointegration Duisburg-Essen (CENIDE), University of Duisburg-Essen, and additional authors Shabbir Tahir, Carlos Donate-Buendia, Michael Farle, Natalia Shkodich, and Bilal Gokce.

Statistics:

  • 179 K: Critical temperature for Ge-based CCA.
  • 263 K: Critical temperature for Al-based CCA.
  • 120 K: Blocking temperature of Ge-based nanoparticles.
  • 100 K: Blocking temperature of Al-based nanoparticles.
  • 13.4 nm: Average particle size of Ge-based nanoparticles.
  • 15.5 nm: Range of particle sizes for Ge-based nanoparticles.
  • 18.4 nm: Average particle size of Al-based nanoparticles.
  • 9.1 nm: Range of particle sizes for Al-based nanoparticles.
  • 20%: Reduction in hysteresis loss for Ge-based CCA at nanoscale.
  • 45%: Reduction in hysteresis loss for Al-based CCA at nanoscale at 5 K.

Sources:

  • NewsRx LLC: University of Duisburg-Essen Reports Findings in Nanoparticles (Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe-Mn-Ni-Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale). Nanotechnology Weekly. June 23, 2025; p 3494.
  • Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology: Synthesis and magnetic transitions of rare-earth-free Fe-Mn-Ni-Si-based compositionally complex alloys at bulk and nanoscale. Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology, 2025;16:823-836.

Read more