Influence of Mn doping on structural, optical, and magnetic properties of BiFeO3 films fabricated by the sol-gel method

Abstract

The present study synthesized BiFe1-xMnxO3 (x = 0.00, 0.03, 0.05 and 0.07) films by the sol-gel method. Rhombohedral lattice structure and phase transition are confirmed by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy images showed that with the increase of Mn content, the grain size and average roughness of the film first decreased and then increased. The saturated magnetization of the BiFe1-xMnxO3 (x = 0.03, 0.05 and 0.07) films was significantly enhanced compared with the BiFeO3 film, thus indicating its potential applicability for information storage. Meanwhile, the Mn-doped films exhibited a reduced optical band gap. The results verify the applicability of the presented method in improving the performance of high-efficient photocatalysis.