Low-temperature synthesis of BiFeO3 nanoparticles by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid complexing sol-gel process

This paper reported a novel approach to synthesize pure BiFeO3 nanoparticles through an ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid complexing sol-gel process at low temperature. The pure BiFeO3 nanoparticles were attained at much lower temperature as 600 degrees C by this process, in contrast to above 800 degrees C for the traditional solid-state sintering process. The SEM results showed that the prepared BiFeO3 nanoparticles had a better homogeneity and fine grain morphology. The BiFeO3 nanoparticles show a weak ferromagnetic order at room temperature, which is quite different from the linear M-H relationship in bulk BiFeO3. The origin of the weak magnetic property in our samples should be attributed to the size-confinement effects of the BiFeO3 nanostructures. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.