A Novel Approach to Improve Properties of BiFeO 3 Nanomultiferroics

In this study we report the synthesis of Bi 1− x In x Fe 1− y Ti y O 3 (0 ≤  x  ≤ 0.1, 0 ≤  y  ≤ 0.05) nanoparticles by a simple cost effective solution combustion method. Pure BFO samples shows distorted rhombohedral perovskite structure with space group R 3 c which is also supported by Fourier transform infrared spectra study. The codoping of In and Ti at A–B sites of BFO ( BIFTO ) partially distorts the crystal structure, increases the lattice strain, reduces the average particle size (14 nm), and increases the Fe 3+ / Fe 2+ ratio which significantly affect the observed results. The saturation magnetization increases significantly upon codoping (4.60 emu/gm) by about 12 times than that of pure BFO (0.4 emu/gm). The improved ferromagnetic properties upon codoping is further manifestated in large value of linear magnetoelectric coupling coefficient (4.8 mV/cmOe) which further provides an indirect evidence for the collapse of space modulated spin structure. The activation energy increases with codoping (0.68 eV), although less than 1 eV which indicates that the conduction is still dominated by charged defects.