Fabrication, magnetic, and ferroelectric properties of multiferroic BiFeO3 hollow nanoparticles

Hollow BiFeO3 nanoparticles were synthesized by an electrospray route for the first time. The phase purity and structure have been investigated by x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Transmission and scanning electron microscope investigations revealed that the as-obtained BiFeO3 hollow sphere...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of applied physics Vol. 109; no. 7
Main Authors Du, Yi, Cheng, Zhen Xiang, Xue Dou, Shi, Attard, Darren Jon, Lin Wang, Xiao
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.04.2011
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Summary:Hollow BiFeO3 nanoparticles were synthesized by an electrospray route for the first time. The phase purity and structure have been investigated by x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Transmission and scanning electron microscope investigations revealed that the as-obtained BiFeO3 hollow spheres were polycrystalline, with a shell thickness of 35 nm. The formation mechanism can be possibly explained by Ostwald ripening. Raman spectra have verified decreased vibrational frequencies in BiFeO3 nanoparticles. These hollow and core-shell multiferroic nanoparticles exhibit significantly enhanced ferromagnetism from 5 to 600 K due to a broken spiral spin structure. The ferroelectricity of hollow BiFeO3 particles exhibits a lower switching electric field, which is confirmed by Kelvin probe force microscopy.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.3561377