Effect of Cu content on microstructural and magnetic properties of a (wt.%), (x = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5) strip-cast was studied. The average inter-lamellar spacing in the free surface and wheel side of the strip cast increased as the Cu content increases. The grain uniformity, the grain alignment, and (00L) texture of the strip cast increased with Cu contents up to 0.4 wt.%. These microstructural changes were attributed to the decrease of the effective cooling rate of the melted alloy caused by the decrease of the melting temperature of resulting from Cu addition. Coercivity and remanence were increased because of the grain alignment and (00L) texture improvement with Cu contents up to 0.4 wt.%.

In order to prevent the oxide formation on the surface of nano-size iron particles and thereby to improve the oxidation resistance, iron nanoparticles synthesized by a chemical vapor condensation method were directly soaked in hexadecanethiol solution to coat them with a polymer layer. Oxygen content in the polymer-coated iron nanoparticles was significantly lower than that in air-passivated particles possessing iron-core/oxide-shell structure. Accordingly, oxidation resistance of the polymer-coated particles at an elevated temperature below in air was times higher than that of the air- passivated particles.