Modification in Structural, Electrical and Magnetic Properties of Pr Doped Bismuth Ferrites

Abstract

Pure and Pr doped multiferroic samples of bismuth ferrites (BFO) were successfully synthesized by the sol-gel technique. Detailed investigations were made on the influence of Pr on structural, electrical, ferroelectric and magnetic properties of the BFO. The XRD patterns confirm the formation of pure phase, rhombohedral structure in BFO. It is also observed that Pr-doping increases the symmetry and decreases the second phases noticeably. Microstructure investigation using the scanning electron microscope showed a reduction of grain size with doping in BFO. Magnetic hysteresis loops showed that retentivity (Mr), coercivity (Hc) and saturation magnetization (Ms) of the doped samples were improved. Furthermore, the Pr-doping enhances the dielectric properties as a result of the reduction in the Fe 2+ ions and oxygen vacancies. The room temperature P-E loop study shows that ferroelectric properties are strongly depend on doping.