Effect of rare earth orthoferrite GdFeO3 on the band gap modulation and magnetic switching in Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 ceramics

Abstract

ABSTRACT This manuscript illustrates the structural, dielectric, optical and magnetic behaviour of [((Bi0.5Na0.5)1-xGdx)(Ti1-xFex)O3] O3 [BNTGF], x = 0.0,0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5 prepared by mixed-oxide technique. The structural and phase identification is confirmed by X-ray diffraction, Scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared Spectroscopy and Raman analysis. The dielectric constants of the GdFeO3 modified ceramics are less than the reported values of the parent materials. Inverse variation of ferroelectric properties such as remnant polarization (Pr ) and coercive field (Ec) with GdFeO3 doping is clear from room temperature hysteresis loops. Appearance of weak ferromagnetism in the samples is established from the room temperature magnetic hysteresis loops due to the carrier-mediated exchange interactions with smaller values of magnetic parameters. The energy gap of the materials obtained from UV-vis spectra shows a drastic decrease compared to that of pure Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3.