The difficulty of short-process bonded Nd–Fe–B
magnet
waste recycling lies in the effective removal of the cured polymer
matrix while protecting the magnetic powder. In this study, the polymer
matrix in bonded Nd–Fe–B magnet waste was destroyed
using sodium hydroxide ethanol solution, and the effect of the recycling
process on the magnetic powders was studied. The nonmagnetic polymer
matrix was removed, while the magnetic phase was not destroyed. The
carbon and oxygen contents of the recycled magnetic powders decreased
by 92.96 and 89.30%, respectively, while the M
S (saturation magnetization), M
r (remanence), and H
cj (coercivity) values
of the recycled magnetic powders were 99.8, 98.5, and 95.9% of the
original magnetic powders, respectively. The curing and decomposition
processes of the polymer matrix were also analyzed. During the curing
process, dicyandiamide and bisphenol A epoxy resin acted as bridges
and skeletons, respectively, finally forming a thermosetting three-dimensional
network structure. In the alkaline alcohol solution, the bridges and
skeletons were destroyed by the free hydroxyl groups and free hydrogen
radicals in ethanol, and small molecular products were dissolved in
the solution.