Repair of soft magnetic properties of wasted silicon steel and Co7Fe3 alloy deposition mechanism

Abstract

In order to repair the soft magnetic properties of wasted silicon steel, a theoretical process of co-depositing Co–Fe soft magnetic alloy on the surface of wasted silicon steel is proposed. The results show that the co-deposited Co–Fe alloy coatings can serve to repair the soft magnetic properties of wasted silicon as detected by the vibrating sample magnetometer, and the alloy coatings with Co₇Fe₃ as the main phase structure can provide surface protection for silicon steel. Subsequently, the mechanism of co-deposited Co–Fe alloys was investigated, and it was concluded that Co²⁺ and Fe²⁺ undergo a one-step two-electron co-deposition reaction, as studied using cyclic voltammetry. The chronoamperometric analysis and its fitting results indicated that the deposition of Co²⁺ and Fe²⁺ was a diffusion-controlled transient nucleation process, and the AC impedance indicated that higher voltages were favorable for the deposition of Co–Fe alloys but were accompanied by hydrogen precipitation reactions.