Structural, Optical and Magnetic Properties of (1-x)Bi0.5Na0.5TiO₃+xBaCoO3-δ Solid Solution Systems Prepared by the Sol-Gel Method.

Abstract

A new solid solution, (1-x)Bi0.5Na0.5TiO₃+xBaCoO3-δ materials, was fabricated using the sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction showed that the crystal structure of the compound exhibited rhombohedral symmetry and is similar to the crystal structures of host Bi0.5Na0.5TiO₃ materials. Distortions in the structures and reduction in the optical band gaps of the Bi0.5Na0.5TiO₃ materials were possibly due to the random incorporation of Ba and Co cations into host lattice materials. The magnetic properties of the Bi0.5Na0.5TiO₃ materials were tuned by controlling the concentrations of BaCoO3-δ as the solid solution. We expect that our work will provide valuable information on current methods for integrating ferromagnetic properties into lead-free ferroelectric materials for the development of multiferroic materials.