Structural, electrical, thermal and optical properties of YFeO3, prepared by SSR and Sol–Gel route: a comparative study

Abstract

Polycrystalline ceramic samples of yttrium ferrite (YFeO3) have been prepared by solid state reaction (SSR) and sol–gel methods. X-ray analysis confirmed single-phase orthorhombic structure with space group Pnma. The lattice parameters obtained from Rietveld refinement for both the samples are almost the same. The particle size (D) obtained for the sample synthesized through SSR is 0.101 μm whereas the same obtained through sol–gel method is 0.053 μm. The resolution of surface morphology obtained from Atomic force microscopy (AFM) for SSR sample is better than that of the Sol–Gel sample. DC conductivity measurement for both the samples shows semiconducting behaviour with activation energies 2.12 eV for SSR and 2.18 eV for sample prepared by sol–gel route. Thermal analysis (DTA/DSC) curves show diffused phase transition around (625–630 K) in both cases with very low weight loss (~ 2%) from room temperature up to 1173 K. Room temperature FT-IR spectra show absorption peak in between 600 and 400 cm−1. Comparative studies indicate that the sample obtained through sol–gel route shows better characteristics than SSR route sample.