Sillenite phase stabilized ferromagnetic ordering in multiphasic magnetoelectric bismuth ferrite

Highlights: • Optimization of process to synthesis magnetoelectrically coupled multiphasic Bismuth Ferrite. • Stabilization of a sillenite phase and the coexistence of ferromagnetic ordering and ferroelectric polarization. • Employing low temperature chemical route with optimization of precursor molar ratio leading to magnetoelectric coupling. This paper reports the synthesis of Sillenite phase stabilized multiphasic magnetoelectric Bismuth Ferrite. Five set of samples were prepared by employing different synthesis techniques namely soft chemical route and rapid liquid phase sintering. These samples were prepared by varying the stoichiometry of the precursors to identify the optimum conditions for the formation of the multiferroic phase of Bismuth Ferrite and characterized using X-ray diffraction, Scanning Electron Microscopy, SQUID VSM and Ferroelectric loop tracer. It is found that tartaric acid plays an important role in the stabilization of the Sillenite phase. The Sillenite phase imparts magnetic property to the already ferroelectric BiFeO₃ and this material exhibits magnetoelectric characteristics. The details are discussed in this paper.