Structural, Electrical and Optical Properties of TM (Mn and Cr) Doped BiFeO3 Nanoparticles

In this paper, the sol-gel technique has been employed to prepare the pure and TM (Mn, Cr) doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized using X-ray diffraction, UV-vis spectroscopy, photoluminescence, and dielectric measurements. Crystal structural analysis infers that pure and TM-doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles displayed a rhombohedral distorted perovskite structure with R3c space group, along with a minor phase of Bi2Fe4O9. Lattice parameters have been found to decrease with TM doping. The particle size, measured with the help of the XRD spectra, was found to decrease from 54.4 nm to 38.7 nm with TM doping. The bandgap, determined using the UV-vis spectra, was observed to be 1.92, 1.66, and 1.54 eV for undoped, 5% Mn, and 5% Cr-doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles, respectively. The dielectric constant shows a normal dispersion behavior at room temperature and its value increases with TM doping. The ac conductivity also increases with TM doping in BiFeO3 nanoparticles.

Automated summary

In this paper, the synthesis and characterization of pure and TM (Mn, Cr) doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles using the sol-gel technique were reported. The nanoparticle structure presented a rhombohedral distorted perovskite structure with R3c space group, along with a minor phase of Bi2Fe4O9. TM doping resulted in a decrease in lattice parameters and particle size. The bandgap was found to decrease with TM doping, while the dielectric constant and ac conductivity increased.