Structural, thermal, electrical and magnetic properties of pure and 50% La doped BiFeO3 ceramics

Polycrystalline ceramic samples of pure and 50% La substituted BiFeO3 have been prepared by standard solid state reaction method using high purity oxides and carbonates. The formation of the single phase compound as well as its chemical analysis has been checked by X-ray diffraction and energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis (EDAX) techniques. A better agreement between observed and calculated X-ray powder diffraction patterns was obtained by performing the Rietveld refinement with a structural model using the non-centrosymmetric space group R3c. The lattice parameters in both the cases have been refined but the over-all structure remains the same. The microstructural studies have been carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) has been used to detect the Neel/transition temperature in the compounds. The activation energies calculated from log σ vs 1/T curve are 0.81 eV and 1.13 eV respectively. Vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) has been used to study the magnetic behaviour of the compounds. It has been observed that by 50% La substitution the insulating behaviour of the material has been improved and showing the antiferromagnetic to weak ferromagnetic behaviour.