Abstract
Investigation of the crystal structure, microstructure, local ferroelectric, and magnetic properties of the Bi0.9La0.1Fe1−yTiyO3 (0 ⩽ y ⩽ 0.1) perovskites has been carried out at room temperature to shed light on the conditions that favor the appearance of spontaneous magnetization in the polar phase of BiFeO3-based multiferroics. The compounds have been shown to possess the noncentrosymmetric rhombohedral structure (space group R3c) specific to the antiferromagnetic (cycloidal) phase of the parent Bi0.9La0.1FeO3. A gradual suppression of the rhombohedral distortions and a decrease of the ferroelectric polarization have been found in the series with increasing Ti content. The substitution dramatically affects the morphology of the ceramic samples: a drastic (from ~10 μm for y = 0 to ~1 μm for 0.02 ⩽ y ⩽ 0.1) decrease of the average grain size has been revealed. The decrease is accompanied by the formation of a nanodimensional ferroelectric domain structure. The origin of the morphological changes has been explained by the charge-compensating mechanism that involves the formation of lattice defects in the donor-doped materials. It has been proposed that the same mechanism can be responsible for the substitution-induced removal of the cycloidal modulation resulting in the establishment of a weak ferromagnetic state in the Bi0.9La0.1Fe1−yTiyO3 series.
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