Structural, Spectroscopic, and Electrical Properties of (Ho, Mn)-Codoped Bismuth Ferrites Synthesized Through Solid-State Route

Bismuth ferrites (BiFeO3) are popularly known as BFOs and have potential application at room temperature in present-day material science and ceramic industry due to their multiferroic and optical properties. Synthesis methods, temperature treatments, and doping are effective for tuning the structural and multiferroic properties of BFO, among which rare earth metals in Bi-site and transition metals in Fe-site have shown interesting results. This work explores the synthesis and characterizations of (holmium, manganese)-codoped BFOs where solid-state synthesis route and some electrical analyses are the novel studies attempted herein. X-ray diffraction results explain the structural transition from rhombohedral to mixed-phase ordering. Grain formation and the elemental concentrations are studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive ray spectra (EDAX). Electrical analysis such as dielectric behavior with respect to frequency and temperature impedance analysis is studied in detail. Polarization versus electric field (P-E) hysteresis loop shows the ferroelectric nature of the codoped sample with lossy nature and reduced remnant polarization with doping. The dielectric anomalies with frequency and temperature are analyzed in detail, and antiferromagnetic transition around Neel temperature is discussed. Holmium-, manganese-codoped bismuth ferrites prepared through solid-state routes exhibit a structural transition from rhombohedral to mixed-phase ordering. The dielectric dispersion indicates the relaxor ferroelectric behavior and the anomalies with temperature indicate electric and magnetic coupling. The Nyquist plot provides non-Debye relaxation. The ferroelectric loop becomes lossy with the reduction in dielectric dispersion.image & COPY; 2023 WILEY-VCH GmbH