Multiferroic properties of nanostructured barium doped bismuth ferrite

Multiferroic nanoparticles of Bi1-xBaxFeO3 (x=0.10, 0.15, 0.20, 0.25 mol%) samples were prepared using conventional solid-state method. The nanostructural, multiferroic properties of the prepared samples was investigated. X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns show the formation of BiBaFeO3 with single-phase rhombohedral-hexagonal structure. Spin canting or impurity phase could be a probable reason for the origin of ferromagnetism. At room temperature, remnant magnetization increased 18 times more than its initial value. A change in the magnetization is observed around 742-833 K. Neel temperature (T-N) registers an increase of 30 times of Ba-doped BiFeO3 in comparison with undoped BiFeO3. The dielectric properties were affected by the properties of the substitutional ions as well as the crystalline structure of the present samples. Substitution with Ba2+ ions also improved the ferroelectric polarization with remanent polarization of 89 mu C/cm(2). The simultaneous occurrence of ferromagnetism and ferroelectric hysteresis loops in BiBaFeO3 multiferroic nanoparticles system at room temperature makes it a potential candidate for information storage and spintronics. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.