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Strong permanent magnet made from alloys of rare earth elements

A rare earth magnet is a strong permanent magnet made from alloys of rare earth elements. Developed in the 1970s and 1980s, rare earth magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnets made, producing significantly stronger magnetic fields than other types such as ferrite or alnico magnets. The magnetic field typically produced by rare earth magnets can exceed 1.2 teslas, whereas ferrite or ceramic magnets typically exhibit fields of 0.5 to 1 tesla. There are two types: neodymium magnets and samarium–cobalt magnets. Rare earth magnets are extremely brittle and also vulnerable to corrosion, so they are usually plated or coated to protect them from breaking, chipping, or crumbling into powder. The development of rare earth magnets began around 1966, when K. J. Strnat and G. Hoffer of the US Air Force Materials Laboratory discovered that an alloy of yttrium and cobalt, YCo5, had by far the largest magnetic anisotropy constant of any material then known. The term "rare earth" can be misleading, as some of these metals can be as abundant in the Earth's crust as tin or lead, but rare earth ores do not exist in seams (like coal or copper), so in any given cubic kilometre of crust they are "rare". The major source is currently China. Some countries classify rare earth metals as strategically important, and Chinese export restrictions on these materials have led other countries, including the United States, to initiate research programs to develop strong magnets that do not require rare earth metals.

Samarium–cobalt magnets (chemical formula: SmCo5), the first family of rare earth magnets invented, are less used than neodymium magnets because of their higher cost and lower magnetic field strength. However, samarium–cobalt has a higher Curie temperature, creating a niche for these magnets in applications where high field strength is needed at high operating temperatures. They are highly resistant to oxidation, but sintered samarium–cobalt magnets are brittle and prone to chipping and cracking and may fracture when subjected to thermal shock.

Neodymium magnets, invented in the 1980s, are the strongest and most affordable type of rare earth magnet. They are made of an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron (Nd2Fe14B), sometimes abbreviated as NIB. Neodymium magnets are used in numerous applications requiring strong, compact permanent magnets, such as electric motors for cordless tools, hard disk drives, magnetic hold downs, and jewellery clasps. They have the highest magnetic field strength and have a higher coercivity (which makes them magnetically stable), but they have a lower Curie temperature and are more vulnerable to oxidation than samarium–cobalt magnets. Corrosion can cause unprotected magnets to spall off a surface layer or to crumble into a powder. Use of protective surface treatments such as gold, nickel, zinc, and tin plating and epoxy resin coating can provide corrosion protection; the majority of neodymium magnets use nickel plating to provide a robust protection. Originally, the high cost of these magnets limited their use to applications requiring compactness together with high field strength. Both the raw materials and the patent licenses were expensive. However, since the 1990s, NIB magnets have become steadily less expensive, and their lower cost has inspired new uses such as magnetic construction toys.

The greater force exerted by rare earth magnets creates hazards that are not seen with other types of magnet. Magnets larger than a few centimeters are strong enough to cause injuries to body parts pinched between two magnets or a magnet and a metal surface, even causing broken bones. Magnets allowed to get too near each other can strike each other with enough force to chip and shatter the brittle material, and the flying chips can cause injuries. Starting in 2005, powerful magnets breaking off toys or from magnetic construction sets started causing injuries and deaths. The swallowing of small magnets such as neodymium magnetic spheres can result in intestinal injury requiring surgery. The magnets attract each other through the walls of the stomach and intestine, perforating the bowel. The U. S. Centers for Disease Control reported 33 cases as of 2010 requiring surgery and one death. The magnets have been swallowed by both toddlers and teens (who were using the magnets to pretend to have tongue piercings).

A voluntary standard for toys, permanently fusing strong magnets to prevent swallowing, and capping unconnected magnet strength, was adopted in 2007. After the rule was nullified, the number of ingestion incidents in the country rose sharply, and is estimated to exceed 1,500 in 2019, leading the CPSC to advise children under the age of 14 to not use the magnets. In 2009 US company Maxfield & Oberton, maker of Buckyballs, decided to repackage sphere magnets and sell them as toys. Buckyballs launched at New York International Gift Fair in 2009 and sold in the hundreds of thousands before the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a recall on packaging labeled 13+. According to the CPSC, 175,000 units had been sold to the public. Fewer than 50 were returned. Buckyballs labeled "Keep Away From All Children" were not recalled. Subsequently, Maxfield & Oberton changed all mentions of "toy" to "desk toy", positioning the product as a stress reliever for adults and restricted sales from stores that sold primarily children's products. In the United States, as a result of an estimated 2,900 emergency room visits between 2009 and 2013 due to either "ball shaped" or "high powered" magnets, or both, the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has undergone rulemaking to attempt to restrict their sale. Further investigation by the CPSC published in 2012 found an increasing trend of magnet ingestion incidents in young children and teens since 2009. Incidents involving older children and teens were unintentional and the result of using the magnets to mimic body piercings such as tongue studs. The commission cited hidden complications if more than one magnet becomes attached across tissue inside the body. Another recall was issued for Buckyballs in 2012 along with similar products marketed as toys in the US. Recalls and administrative complaints were filed against other similar US companies. Maxfield & Oberton refused the recall and continued selling their desktop toys. The company launched a political campaign against the CPSC, and Craig Zucker, the company's co founder, debated the safety commission on FOX News. In June 2012, due to a letter by U. S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand to U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission Chairwoman Inez Tenenbaum, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission filed administrative complaints, attempting to ban the sale of Buckyballs and Zen Magnets. Zen Magnets LLC is the first company to ever receive this sort of complaint without record of injury. In November 2012, Buckyballs announced that they had stopped production due to a CPSC lawsuit. In March 2016, Zen Magnets (a manufacturer of neodymium magnet spheres) won in a major 2014 court hearing concerning the danger posed by "defective" warning labels on their spherical magnets. It was decided by a DC court (CPSC Docket No: 12 2) that "Proper use of Zen Magnets and Neoballs creates no exposure to danger whatsoever." As of January 2017, many brands of magnet spheres including Zen Magnets have resumed the sale of small neodymium magnet spheres following a successful appeal by Zen Magnets in the Tenth Circuit US Court of Appeals which vacated the 2012 CPSC regulation banning these products and thereby rendered the sale of small neodymium magnets once again legal in the United States. It was the CPSC's first such loss in more than 30 years. A study published in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition found a significant increase in magnet ingestions by children after 2017, including "a 5 fold increase in the escalation of care for multiple magnet ingestions". On June 3, 2020, the CPSC submitted a "Petition Response Staff Briefing Package" to the commission, even after the petition was rescinded. It outlines a desire to conduct research in 2021 with a suggested rule proposal in 2022 for a vote. As of 2019, manufacturers are working on a similar voluntary standard at the ASTM. On October 26, 2017, the CPSC filed an administrative complaint against Zen Magnets, alleging that the magnet sets contained product defects that created a substantial risk of injury to children, declaring that "It is illegal under federal law for any person to sell, offer for sale, manufacture, distribute in commerce, or import into the United States any Zen Magnets and Neoballs." Sales of "certain products with small, powerful magnets" are prohibited in Canada since 2015.

In November 2012, following an interim ban in New South Wales, a permanent ban on the sale of neodymium magnets went into effect throughout Australia. In January 2013, Consumer Affairs Minister Simon Bridges announced a ban on the import and sale of neodymium magnet sets in New Zealand, effective from January 24, 2013.

The European Union's ETN Demeter project (European Training Network for the Design and Recycling of Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Motors and Generators in Hybrid and Full Electric Vehicles) is examining sustainable design of electric motors used in vehicles. They are, for example, designing electric motors in which the magnets can be easily removed for recycling the rare earth metals. The European Union's European Research Council also awarded to Principal Investigator, Prof. Thomas Zemb, and co Principal Investigator, Dr. Jean Christophe P. Gabriel, an Advanced Research Grant for the project "Rare Earth Element reCYCling with Low harmful Emissions : REE CYCLE", which aimed at finding new processes for the recycling of rare earth.

The United States Department of Energy has identified a need to find substitutes for rare earth metals in permanent magnet technology and has begun funding such research. The Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy (ARPA E) has sponsored a Rare Earth Alternatives in Critical Technologies (REACT) program, to develop alternative materials. In 2011, ARPA E awarded $31.6 million to fund Rare Earth Substitute projects.