Property Channges of Fe-N Prepared by Reduction-Sintering Method with Heat Treatment

While much is known about the large magnetic moment of Fe
₈
N thin films, little work has been done on bulk FeN material. Bulk FeN was prepared by pressure-forming &@x003B1;-Fe
₂
O
₃
powder, reduction in H
₂
and sintering at 700 to 800°C in NH
₃
-H
₂
, followed by gradual cooling or by quenching from different temperatures. It was found that under appropriate conditions (sintering temperature 700°C, P
_NH3
= 0.5), this reduction-sintering process can be used to obtain stable single-phase Fe
₄
N. Further studies on quenching and other heat treatment are underway to produce Fe
₈
N from this Fe
₄
N material.