Enhanced magnetic and dielectric properties of Eu and Co co-doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles

Bi1-xEuxFe1-yCoyO3 (x = 0, 0.01; y = 0, 0.01) nanoparticles, having an average size of 13 nm, were prepared by a simple sol gel route. Strong electronegativity of Eu3+ and smaller oxidation-reduction potential of Co3+/Co2+ (0.55 eV) than Fe3+/Fe2+ (1.3 eV) increase the concentration of Fe3+ ions with doping. Distinct magnetic hysteresis and complete saturation of magnetisation indicate the presence of ferromagnetic phase. The successful co-doping of Eu and Co into BiFeO3 (BFO) lattice dramatically enhances the saturation magnetization (M-s) and coercivity (H-c) by about 20 times than that of pure BiFeO3. A large value of dielectric constant of about 650, low loss (<0.001), and small leakage current density (1.79 x 10(-8) A/cm(2)) are observed for the co-doped sample. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4738992]