We demonstrate in this paper the feasibility to elaborate rare-earth free permanent magnets based on cobalt nanorods assemblies with energy product (BH)max exceeding 150 kJ m(-3). The cobalt rods were prepared by the polyol process and assembled from wet suspensions under a magnetic field. Magnetization loops of dense assemblies with remanence to a saturation of 0.99 and squareness of 0.96 were measured. The almost perfect M(H) loop squareness together with electron microscopy and small angle neutron scattering demonstrate the excellent alignment of the rods within the assemblies. The magnetic volume fraction was carefully measured by coupling magnetic and thermogravimetric analysis and found in the range from 45 to 55%, depending on the rod diameter and the alignment procedure. This allowed a quantitative assessment of the (BH)max values. The highest (BH)max of 165 kJ m(-3) was obtained for a sample combining a high magnetic volume fraction and a very large M(H) loop squareness. This study shows that this bottom-up approach is very promising to get new hard magnetic materials that can compete in the permanent magnet panorama and fill the gap between the ferrites and the NdFeB magnets.

Strontium hexaferrite nanoparticles were synthesized by a microwave-assisted hydrothermal process. The variation of structure, morphology and magnetic properties of the as-produced particles and after annealing temperatures were carefully analysed. Pure M-SrFe12O19 powders were synthesized at T = 200°C using a heating rate of 25 °C.min-1. The particles exhibited a magnetic coercivity of 95 kA.m-1 (µ0Hc = 0.12 T), explained by the shape of the particles that crystallized as very thin platelets with a micrometer size diameter and a very high aspect ratio in which a competition between shape and magnetocrystalline anisotropy takes place. The coercivity was strongly enhanced with Hc = 360 kA.m-1 (µ0 Hc = 0.445 T) by annealing at the optimum temperature of 1000°C. In order to optimize the particle morphology and magnetic properties after annealing, the heating rate of the microwave synthesis was increased. At T = 200°C using a heating rate of 40 °C.min-1 the particle exhibited a size in the range 20-100 nm. The powder crystallized as a mixture of hexaferrite and ferrihydrite. After annealing at 1000 °C, M-SrFe12O19 with a small amount of hematite (<15 %) was obtained. The coercivity was strongly enhanced to reach the value Hc = 465 kA.m-1 (µ0Hc = 0.585 T).