Magnetic and dielectric study of Bi2CuO4

Magnetic and dielectric behavior of Bi2CuO4. A possible existence of phase separation as suggested for La2CuO4. Important role of electron hopping. Magnetic and dielectric properties have been investigated for Bi2CuO4, which has the same chemical formula as that of the parent materials of cuprate superconductors R2CuO4 (R: rare earths). Magnetization measurements show the antiferromagnetic transition of the Cu2+ spins at ∼42 K, as reported previously. Dielectric measurements for the frequencies of 1 kHz to 1 MHz show that the dielectric constants are 100-500 at room temperature. The dielectric dispersion reveals that the dielectric response lacks spatial coherence, a property which indicates the possible existence of phase separation as suggested for La2CuO4. The imaginary part of dielectric response gives the activation energy of 0.22 eV, suggesting that the dielectric response is governed by the electron hopping between the Cu ions.