Issue 36, 2020

Novel Aurivillius Bi4Ti3−2xNbxFexO12 phases with increasing magnetic-cation fraction until percolation: a novel approach for room temperature multiferroism

Abstract

Aurivillius oxides with general formula (Bi2O2)(Am−1BmO3m+1) are being extensively investigated for room-temperature multiferroism and magnetoelectric coupling. The chemical design strategy behind current investigations is the incorporation of magnetically active BiMO3 units (M: Fe3+, Mn3+, Co3+…) to the pseudoperovskite layer of known ferroelectrics like Bi4Ti3O12, increasing m. The percolation of magnetic cations at the B-site sublattice is required for magnetic ordering and thus, phases with m ≥ 5 are searched. Alternatively, one can try to directly substitute magnetic species for Ti4+ in the perovskite slab, without introducing additional oxygen octahedra. We report here the mechanosynthesis of Aurivillius Bi4Ti3−2xNbxFexO12 phases with increasing x values up to 1. A maximum magnetic fraction of 1/3, surpassing the threshold for percolation, was reached. Preliminary structural analysis indicated a continuous solid solution, though hints of structural changes between x = 0.25 and 0.5 were found. Ceramic processing was accomplished by spark plasma sintering of the mechanosynthesized phases, including those with high-x ones with reduced thermal stability. This has enabled us to carry out full electrical characterization and to demonstrate ferroelectricity for all phases up to x = 1. Magnetic measurements were also carried out, and weak ferromagnetism was found for x = 1. Therefore, Bi4TiNbFeO12 is proposed to be a novel room-temperature multiferroic.

Graphical abstract: Novel Aurivillius Bi4Ti3−2xNbxFexO12 phases with increasing magnetic-cation fraction until percolation: a novel approach for room temperature multiferroism

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 Jul 2020
Accepted
31 Jul 2020
First published
01 Aug 2020
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

J. Mater. Chem. C, 2020,8, 12457-12469

Novel Aurivillius Bi4Ti3−2xNbxFexO12 phases with increasing magnetic-cation fraction until percolation: a novel approach for room temperature multiferroism

M. Algueró, M. Pérez-Cerdán, R. P. del Real, J. Ricote and A. Castro, J. Mater. Chem. C, 2020, 8, 12457 DOI: 10.1039/D0TC03210G

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