Determination of the zirconium site in zirconium-substituted Nd2Fe14B

We report a direct determination of the Zr site in pseudoternary alloys with a nominal composition of Nd1.6Zr0.4Fe14B using extended x-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS). Comparing the Zr EXAFS from these alloys to the Y EXAFS from Y2Fe14B and the Fe EXAFS from Nd2Fe14B reveals that the local Zr and Y environments are nearly identical, and quite disparate from the Fe environment. This finding, and results from x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, lead to the conclusion that Zr is incorporated as a substituent for Nd in the Nd2Fe14B structure.