Tetrataenite forms naturally in iron meteorites that contain taenite that are slow-cooled at a rate of a few degrees per million years, which allows for ordering of the Fe and Ni atoms.[10][11] It is found most abundantly in slow-cooled chondrite meteorites,[12] as well as in mesosiderites.[10] At high (as much as 52%) Ni content and temperatures below 320 °C (the order-disorder transition temperature), tetrataenite is broken down from taenite and distorts its face centered cubic crystal structure to form the tetragonal L10 structure.[13][11]
The L10 phase can be synthetically produced by neutron- or electron-irradiation of FeNi below 593 K, by hydrogen-reduction of nanometric NiFe2O4,[11] or by crystallization of Fe–Ni alloys in the presence of traces of phosphorus.[14]
In 2015, it was reported that tetrataenite was found in a terrestrial rock – a magnetite body from the Indo-Myanmar ranges of northeast India.[11]
A laboratory protocol for bulk synthesis, announced in 2022
Mixing iron and nickel together in specific quantities, with a phosphorus catalyst, and smelting the mixture, forms tetrataenite in bulk quantities, in seconds.[15][16] This discovery, announced in 2022, raises hopes that some of the technologies which currently require the use of magnetic alloys containing rare earths metals may be achievable using magnets made of tetrataenite as an alternative, which would reduce dependence on toxic, environmentally harmful rare earth mines.[17]
^ abLewis, L. H. (January 27, 2014). "Inspired by nature: investigating tetrataenite for permanent magnet applications". Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter. 26 (6). IOP Publishing: 064213. doi:10.1088/0953-8984/26/6/064213. PMID24469336. S2CID24710267.
^ abcDos Santos, E. (6 September 2014). "Kinetics of tetrataenite disordering". Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials. 375: 234–241. doi:10.1016/j.jmmm.2014.09.051.
