On the superparamagnetic behavior of BiFeO3-PbTiO3 nanoparticles

Abstract

In this work, the nanostructuration effects on the physical properties of pure and La doped (0.6)BiFeO3-(0.4)PbTiO3 magnetoelectric nanoparticles were investigated. An exotic magnetic response, mimicking a superparamagneticlike behavior that raised the magnetization to levels never reported before for these materials, is clearly observed. Another important change associated with the nanostructuration is observed in the symmetry of the perovskite-structured materials, which changes from a tetragonal to a rhombohedral one. Transmission electron microscopic and X-ray diffraction results (investigated by the Debye-Scherrer method) revealed uniform nanoparticles of spherical shape, average particle sizes close to 5 nm and with a single structural domain (only one crystallite per particle). The pronounced increase (∼20 times) in the magnetization response of the nanoparticles, compared to microparticle ones, is observed in magnetization curves. A magnetic semiempirical phenomenological model, where noninteracting single-domain magnetic nanoparticles are considered, is used to fit the magnetization curves, revealing the almost absence of surface effects in a typical superparamagneticlike behavior. All these aspects pointing to a material with immense potential for practical applications in spintronics and magnetoelectronics.