High-efficiency utilization of Tb in enhancing the coercivity of Nd-Fe-B magnets by multicomponent Tb70−xPrxCu10Al10Zn10 (x = 0–30) film diffusion

•The coercivity of sintered Nd-Fe-B magnets was remarkably improved with Tb70-xPrxCu10Al10Zn10 (x = 0–30) film diffusion sources.•The effective Tb utilization for coercivity enhancement increases by 57.5–105% in multicomponent diffused magnets.•Multicomponent diffusion sources help greatly for Tb diffusion, improving uniformity and depth of shell-core structure.•Multicomponent film provides a composition diversity and cost-effective way to enhance the performances of Nd-Fe-B magnets.