Structural, electrical and magnetic properties of multiferroic Bi1-xGdxFeO3 (x=0.00 and 0.15)

A co-precipitation method has been adopted to synthesis Bi1-xGdxFeO3 (x=0.00 and 0.15) nanoparticles. XRD studies confirms the phase formation and the crystallite size measured by using Debye-Scherrer relation reveals particle sizes of 72 and 36 nm for Bi1-xGdxFeO3 (x=0.00) and Bi1-xGdxFeO3 (x=0.15) respectively. A distinct anomaly peak has been observed around 390 degrees C in Bi-1-xGdxFeO3 (x=0.00) and 273 degrees C in Bi1-xGdxFeO3 (x=0.15) from the temperature dependent dielectric studies attributed to the antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition. Bi1-xGdxFeO3 (x=0.15) shows better leakage current characteristics due to partial substitution of stable rare-earth Gd3+ ions for volatile Bi3+ ions leading to the reduction in oxygen vacancies. Further, Bi1-xGdxFeO3 (x=0.00) shows lower remnant polarization value and a antiferromagnetic behavior. Whereas, Bi1-xGdxFeO3 (x=0.15) shows higher remnant polarization value and a weak ferromagnetic behavior.