Multiferroic properties in Ba0.93Bi0.07Ti1-xMnxO3 ceramics

Nominal composition of Ba0.93Bi0.07Ti1-xMnxO3 (x=0, 0.02, and 0.04) ceramics have been prepared by a modified Pechini method. X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the samples are pure perovskite BaTiO3 (BTO) structure with no trace of impurity phase. The cell volume of the composites increases monotonously with the increase in Mn content, which indicates that Mn ions have been incorporated into the lattice of Ba0.93Bi0.07TiO3. The samples are experimentally confirmed to show ferromagnetic (FM) and ferroelectric behaviors simultaneously at room temperature. The temperature dependent magnetic behaviors show complex magnetic interactions including FM, antiferromagnetic, and paramagnetic. These results suggest that the dopant Bi and Mn help BTO transit from pure ferroelectric to multiferroic materials and the magnetic behaviors can be explained by the bound magnetic polaron model with inhomogeneity of Mn dopant distribution.