Abstract
In this work, PrCo5 nanoflakes were obtained by a top-down approach using surfactant-assisted high-energy ball mill (SABM) technique. The coarse alloy powders were subjected to SABM employing oleic acid as surfactant and heptane as milling medium. The surfactant led to the dispersion of the crashed particles by suppressing the effects of re-welding and agglomeration duringmilling. The structural and magnetic characteristics of the milled particles proved to be functions of milling conditions. X-ray diffraction and magnetic investigations demonstrated that the nanoflakes were crystallographically anisotropic with [001] out of plane texture. The coercivity, H-i(c), of the milled particles showed enhancement versus milling time, and an optimum room temperature value of similar to 7.4 kOe was obtained after 5 h of milling. TEM observations revealed that majority of the milled nanostructures exhibited aspherical, flake-type morphology.