Structural and magnetic properties of nanocrystalline bismuth manganite obtained by mechanochemical synthesis

We have studied the formation of BiMnO3 (BMO) nanocrystalline perovskite powder produced by high-energy milling of the constituent oxides. The crystal structure and the amount of crystalline and amorphous phases in the powder as a function of the milling time were determined with XRPD using Rietveld refinement. BMO perovskite formed directly from highly activated nano-sized constituent oxides after 240 min of milling and subsequently grew during prolonged milling. The morphology, structure, and chemical composition of the powder were investigated by SEM and TEM. A clear ferromagnetic transition was observed at TC ~66 K for a sample milled for 240 min and increased with milling time. The magnetic hysteresis behavior is similar to that of a soft ferromagnet. The magnetic properties of the obtained BMO powders were found to change as a function of milling time in a manner consistent with variations in the nanocomposite microstructure.