Multiferroic, magnetoelectric and optical properties of Mn doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles

Mn doped BiFeO3 (5, 10 and 15 mol%) nanoparticles were synthesized using sol-gel technique. The influence of Mn doping on structural, dielectric, magnetic, magnetoelectric and optical properties of BiFeO3 was studied. Rietveld refinement of XRD patterns showed rhombohedral to orthorhombic phase transition for 15 mol% Mn doped BiFeO3 sample. Magnetic measurements revealed the enhancement of ferromagnetic property with increasing Mn doping in BiFeO3. The characteristic dielectric anomaly, expected in the vicinity of antiferromagnetic transition temperature T-N (Neel temperature) was found in all Mn doped BiFeO3 samples. The magnetoelectric coupling was evidenced by the change in capacitance with the change in the applied magnetic field. On increasing Mn concentration from 5 to 15 mol% in BiFeO3, a change in magnetocapacitance from 1.46% to 2.6% showed the improvement of multiferroic properties. In order to explore the optical properties of Mn doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles, their photoluminescent properties were also investigated. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.