Optical and electrical properties of impurity-less multiferroic bismuth ferrite nanoparticles

Synthesis of high-purity multiferroic bismuth ferrite (BFO) nanoparticles is a big challenge for researchers. In this research, we synthesized high-purity BFO nanoparticles by a modified sol-gel method. BFO nanoparticles were characterized for structural, morphological, optical, electrical, and multiferroic properties. The Rietveld refinement revealed the rhombohedral crystal structure with R3c space group and devoid of impurity phases. Measured average particle size from FESEM and TEM images were 152 and 148 nm, respectively. The ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of synthesized nanoparticles were investigated in detail. The leakage current density and the space-charge-limited current were analyzed to study the effect of impurities. The dielectric properties were measured and characterized for dielectric constant, dielectric loss, resistance, reactance, impedance, resistivity, conductivity, electric modulus, and Cole-Cole plot. The calculated optical bandgap energy from UV-Vis-NIR spectroscopy and photoluminescence spectroscopy were 2.057 eV and 2.087 eV, respectively.

Automated summary

The synthesis of high-purity multiferroic bismuth ferrite (BFO) nanoparticles remains a challenge for researchers. In this study, high-purity BFO nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using a modified sol-gel method, and characterized for their structural, morphological, optical, electrical, and multiferroic properties. Impurity effects were analyzed, and dielectric properties were measured and characterized in detail.