Hydrothermal synthesis and formation mechanism of Aurivillius Bi5Fe0.9Co0.1Ti3O15 nanosheets

Abstract

As potential single-phase multiferroic materials, Aurivillius compounds have attracted much interest in recent years. In this paper, Bi₅Fe_0.9Co_0.1Ti₃O₁₅ (BFCTO) nanosheets were first synthesized by a hydrothermal method; lateral length and thickness of them are ∼600 nm and ∼100 nm, respectively. The BFCTO nanosheets were assumed to form by a co-effect of the aggregate process, the oriented attachment of neighboring nanorods, and Ostwald ripening. Besides, an obvious hysteresis loop with 2M_r = ∼0.55 emu g⁻¹ and 2H_c = ∼2600 Oe at 300 K was observed in the final products. Both dielectric permittivity and dielectric loss decrease with the increase of the frequency at room temperature. Our results could serve as guidance to realize a controllable synthesis of Aurivillius nanoparticles and will shed light on designing new nanodevices.