Study of Structural, Magnetic and Electrical properties on Ho - substituted BiFeO3

TL;DR

This study investigates how Ho substitution affects the structural, magnetic, and electrical properties of BiFeO3, revealing changes in magnetic interactions, structural parameters, and electrical relaxation mechanisms.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of Ho doping on BiFeO3's properties using comprehensive structural, magnetic, and electrical analyses.

Findings

All compounds stabilized in rhombohedral R3c structure.

Ho substitution alters magnetic interactions, showing competing ferro and anti-ferro magnetism.

Electrical relaxations observed via impedance spectroscopy.

Abstract

The polycrystalline Bi1-xHoxFeO3 (x=0, 0.05, 0.1) compounds were synthesized by conventional solid-state route. Rietveld refinement reveals that all the compounds were stabilized in rhombohedral structure with R3c (IUCr No. 161) space group. A competing ferro and anti-ferro magnetic interaction was observed in Ho-substituted compounds. A change in the Fe-O-Fe bond-angle and Fe-O bond distance increase the Neel Transition temperature with increasing Ho concentration. The appearance of peak in imaginary part of impedance (Z") for each concentration and shifting of this peak with temperature towards higher frequency side indicated that the presence of electric relaxations. Correlated Barrier Hopping model (CBH) was employed to explain the frequency and temperature dependence of ac conductivity and the mechanism of transport in the material BFO and Ho substituted BFO. Density of states near Fermi level was calculated by using the ac conductivity data.