A new kind of magnetically separable composite consisting initially of magnetite and cerium carbonate nanograins was investigated using magnetic and Mössbauer methods at room and low temperatures. Various stages of calcination treatment in air resulted in a transformation of the cerium carbonate into cerium dioxide and magnetite into more complicated iron oxide compositions. The final CeO₂ nanograins on the surface of α-Fe₂O₃ were obtained after calcination at 973 K.
Enhancement of soft magnetic properties in the selected group of amorphous alloys was examined by different experimental methods. It was shown that permeability for annealed samples (at T_{a} for 1 h; 300 K < T_{a} < 900 K) plotted vs. T_{a} shows a maximum at which is 700, 725, 725, and 750 K for Fe₈₂Nb₂B₁₄Y₂, Fe₈₂Nb₂B₁₄Gd₂, Fe₈₂Nb₂B₁₄Tb₂ and Fe₈₂Nb₂B₁₄Dy₂ alloy, respectively. For samples after the optimization annealing permeability is at least 10 times higher than in the as-quenched state. The optimized microstructure is free of iron nanograins and corresponds to so-called relaxed amorphous phase.