Detailed investigation on structural, optical, dielectric and magneto-dielectric properties with enhanced magneto-impedance characteristic of NdFeO3 nanoparticles

Abstract

NdFeO3 (NFO) was synthesized using sol-gel citrate method and subsequent calcination at 1023 K. Utilizing Rietveld refinement analysis of the XRD pattern, it has been verified that NFO exhibits an orthorhombic crystal structure, with space group Pbnm. NFO grains were seen to be strongly agglomerated in a SEM image, despite their irregular shapes. The analysis of optical properties revealed a transmittance range of ∼20%–∼50% and an optical band gap of 2.15 eV for the NFO material. The dielectric properties of NFO were analyzed with respect to their dependence on frequency and temperature, while the ac electrical conductivity was studied in terms of its frequency variation. The dielectric dispersion behavior of NFO is explained by Maxwell Wagner-type polarization. A negative magneto-dielectric (MD) coupling of −19% and −35% was measured for ε and tanδ at 1 kHz for NFO. Magneto-impedance measurements on NFO showed positive magneto-resistance and both positive and negative magneto-capacitance, suggesting that the grain effect had a substantial role in the material's magnetic properties. These results suggest that NFO is an excellent choice for memory-based electronic devices with an appropriate band gap for optoelectronic applications having a large MD effect.