Multiferroic and photocatalytic properties of DyFeO₃ nanoparticles stabilized by citrate precursor route

The synthesis of DyFeO₃ nanoparticles (NPs) by using the citrate precursor method is explored with multiferroic properties. The particle size, crystallinity and pure phase were assessed using transmission electron microscopy, selected area electron diffraction, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and powder X-ray diffraction measurements, suggesting that the particles have a high surface area with an average grain size range of 34-64 nm. An ideal multiferroic property has been shown by a room-temperature ferroelectric loop and well-defined hysteresis with significant values of saturation and remanent magnetization with a coercive field. In addition, dye degradation of rhodamine B was also reported in DyFeO₃ NPs, which revealed the maximum decolourization of dye in the presence of DyFeO₃ NPs as a photocatalyst. The temperature and frequency-dependent electrical measurements viz. dielectric constant, dielectric loss, conductance and impedance of DyFeO₃ NPs were investigated in the temperature variation of 50-450°C and also frequency range of 100 kHz to 2 MHz. (author)