Effect of doping on the morphology and multiferroic properties of BiFeO3 nanorods

• Published in: Nanoscale Vol. 2; no. 7; pp. 1149 - 1154
• Main Authors: Dutta, Dimple P, Jayakumar, O. D, Tyagi, A. K, Girija, K. G, Pillai, C. G. S, Sharma, G
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England 01.07.2010
• Subjects: Aspect ratio; Bismuth - chemistry; Doping; Iron Compounds - chemistry; Nanocomposites; Nanomaterials; Nanorods; Nanostructure; Nanotubes - chemistry; Saturation (magnetic); X-Ray Diffraction
• ISSN: 2040-3364; 2040-3372; 2040-3372
• DOI: 10.1039/c0nr00100g

In this study we report the synthesis of BiFeO 3 nanorods using a sonochemical technique. The nanorods had a diameter of 20-50 nm, a length of 100-500 nm and exhibit aspect ratios in the range of 5-10. However, after doping, the TEM images of Bi 0.9 Ba 0.1 Fe 0.9 Mn 0.1 O 3 and Bi 0.9 Ca 0.1 Fe 0.9 Cr 0.1 O 3 samples show that the aspect ratios of both the double doped samples have reduced considerably, while retaining the crystallinity of the particles. BiFeO 3 nanorods show a weak ferromagnetic order at room temperature, which is quite different from the linear M-H relationship reported for bulk BiFeO 3 . The saturation magnetization of these BiFeO 3 nanostructures has been found to increase on doping with various metal ions (Ba 2+ , Ca 2+ , Mn 2+ , Cr 3+ ), reaching a maximum value of 1.35 emu g −1 for the Bi 0.9 Ba 0.1 Fe 0.9 Mn 0.1 O 3 nanostructures. However, saturation of electric polarization was observed only in case of the Bi 0.9 Ca 0.1 Fe 0.9 Cr 0.1 O 3 nanostructures. Morphological changes and superior multiferroic properties have been observed in sonochemically synthesized doped nano Bi 0.9 Ba 0.1 Fe 0.9 Mn 0.1 O 3 and Bi 0.9 Ca 0.1 Fe 0.9 Cr 0.1 O 3 compared to undoped BiFeO 3 .