Effect of titanium substitution on the structural and optical properties of lanthanum orthoferrite nanoparticles

Abstract

A series of LaFe1-xTixO3 (x = 0.4, 0.5 and 0.6) nanoparticles was succesfully synthesized via sol-gel method. All samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometry. XRD characterization revealed an orthorhombic crystal structure with the pnma space group. In the FTIR spectra, the vibrational modes of tilting, bending, and symmetric stretching of the Fe/TiO6 octahedra were observed. UV-Vis analysis showed the increasing of the energy gap with Ti content.