Enhanced magnetization and dielectric properties of Ca doped BiFeO3: Er nanoparticles by sol–gel technique

• Published in: Materials science & engineering. B, Solid-state materials for advanced technology Vol. 270; p. 115235
• Main Authors: Sunil Kumar, K., Sudharani, A., Ramanadha, M., Ramu, S., Murali, G., Vijayalakshmi, R.P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lausanne Elsevier B.V 01-08-2021; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: BFO; Bismuth ferrite; Ca doped BFO: Er nanoparticles; Dielectric properties; Electrical properties; Ferromagnetism; Magnetic properties; Magnetic saturation; Magnetization; Nanoparticles; Optical properties; Sol-gel processes; BFO; Ca doped BFO: Er nanoparticles; Magnetization; Dielectric properties
• ISSN: 0921-5107; 1873-4944
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mseb.2021.115235

•Ca co-doped BiFeO3 nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel technique.•Ca(0.05):BFO:Er(0.2)showed high magnetization, dielectric & low recombinations of PL.•Lower recombinations of electron-hole pair are useful for photocatalytic devices.•Contributes to potent spintronics, multistate memory devices & optical applications.
Here in, we synthesized pure BiFeO3 (BFO) and Bi0.8-XCaXEr0.2FeO3 (x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, and 0.15 at.%) nanoparticles using sol–gel technique and investigated their optical, magnetic, and electrical properties. X-ray diffraction studies reveals structural transformation in BFO from the rhombohedral structure to orthorhombic, without forming any defect phases, with the doping of Er or Ca/Er into BFO. EDX analysis confirms the presence of doped elements (Er and Ca) along with the Bi, Fe and O elements corresponding to BFO host material. TEM images indicate the significant reduction in particle size with increasing the Ca dopant concentration. Further, the band gap of pure BFO nanoparticles (2.30 eV) decreases notably to a minimum of 1.81 eV for Ca and Er co-doped BFO nanoparticles. All samples exhibited the ferromagnetic behavior, Bi0.8-XCaXEr0.2FeO3 (x = 0.05 at.%) nanoparticles yielded 2.9 times higher saturation magnetization compared to BFO nanoparticles. In addition, the conductivity increases by 11.8 times for Bi0.8-XCaXEr0.2FeO3 (x = 0.05 at.%) nanoparticles compared to BFO nanoparticles.