Preparation, structural and magnetic studies on BiFe1-xCrxO3 (x=0.0, 0.05 and 0.1) multiferroic nanoparticles

TL;DR

This study synthesizes BiFe1-xCrxO3 nanoparticles via combustion, revealing enhanced magnetization and coercivity with Cr doping, and confirms magnetic ordering through Mössbauer spectroscopy.

Contribution

It introduces a solvent-free combustion synthesis method for BiFe1-xCrxO3 nanoparticles and investigates how Cr doping influences their magnetic properties.

Findings

Magnetization increases with Cr doping.

Nanoparticles are single phase, spherical, and have distorted perovskite structure.

Mössbauer data confirms Fe in 3+ oxidation state and magnetic ordering.

Abstract

BiFe1-xCrxO3 (x=0.0, 0.05 and 0.1) nanoparticles are prepared by a combustion method without using any solvent. All the synthesized nanoparticles are single phase in nature, nearly spherical in shape and crystallize in distorted perovskite structure and space group R3c with an average crystallite size of the order of 40 nm. The room temperature magnetization observed in BiFeO3 nanoparticles is larger than that in the bulk. Increasing Cr doping leads to increase in the magnetization and coercivity. Strong superexchange interaction between Fe3+ and Cr3+ atoms is likely to give rise to such increase in magnetization with Cr-doping. M\"ossbauer data of these nanoparticles show ordered magnetic state in which Fe atoms are in 3+ oxidation states.