Abstract
Bi1−xSmxFeO3 (x = 0·00–0·15) ceramics were synthesised by sol–gel technique at different Sm contents. The structural and multiferroic properties of the samples were investigated. X-ray diffraction studies show that the structure of BiFeO3 (BFO) was changed from rhombohedral R3c to orthorhombic Pnma, and the impurity phases in both were decreased due to samarium substitution. Raman spectra measurement confirms the result that structure transition occurs. Moreover, the substitution of Sm for Bi could obviously affect the Bi–O bond. Vibrating sample magnetometer measurements show that the ferromagnetic property of BFO is improved by Sm substitution due to the suppressed or broken cycloid spin structure caused by the changes in the crystalline structure. Ferroelectric measurements show that Sm substitution improves the polarisation due to the significant decrease in electric leakage of the samples. Therefore, it seems a promising way to improve the multiferroic properties of BFO based materials by Sm substitution.
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