Synthesis of (Pb,ni)-Doped Bifeo3 Multiferroic Systems Via A Sol-Gel Method and Their Magneto-Electric Properties

Influence of Pb and Ni doping on the phase formation and magneto-electric properties of the BiFeO3 perovskites were studied. The (Bi,Pb) FeO3 and Bi(Fe,Ni)O-3 powders have been successfully synthesized via a sol-gel method employing natural iron sands as Fe3+ ion source of starting material. Both Pb and Ni doping decrease the phase formation of the BiFeO3, while increase the secondary phase formation and lead to a phase transition. For the latter mentioned case, a structural transformation from rhombohedral to pseudocubic system was observed with the increasing Pb contents. Both weak ferromagnetism and ferroelectricity were observed form the related samples. As expected, the Ni doping has strengthened the magnetic properties.