Correlation between lattice distortion and magnetic and electrical properties of Fe-doped Bi4Ti3O12 ceramics

Aurivillius phase Bi4Ti3O12–xFe2O3 (BIT–xFe, x = 0–0.08) ceramics were prepared by conventional solid-state method. The crystallographic evolution was determined via the X-ray diffraction patterns, by which the lattice parameters, a, b and c were also calculated. It was found that the increasing content of Fe2O3 reduced the lattice distortion of BIT-based ceramics, which led to a phase transition from orthorhombic to tetragonal. Ferroelectricity and magnetization data showed that BIT–xFe ceramics possess expected ferroelectric and ferromagnetic behaviors. Besides, the grain size decreased as structure changed from rod-like to sphere with increasing x, which can be observed in the SEM. The dielectric constant can be analyzed by a “brick-wall” model, the dielectric loss and dc conductivity had a tendency to decrease with increasing x.