Crystal structure and magnetic behavior of the La0.1Bi0.9FeO3 compound

The nano-crystalline La_(0.1)Bi_(0.9)FeO_3 compound was successfully synthesized by starch-based combustion method. The crystal structure and magnetic behavior were studied by temperature-dependent X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), differential scanning calorimetry(DSC) and magnetic measurements. The La_(0.1)Bi_(0.9)FeO_3 compounds crystallized in a rhombohedrally distorted perovskite structure with space group R3 c. The substitution of La for Bi reduced the rhombohedral distortion. The structural phase transitions in La_(0.1)Bi_(0.9)FeO_3 driven by temperature showed that the extraordinary two-phase coexistence state of BiF eO 3 and LaF eO 3 was observed in a narrow temperature range of 630–700 oC. The magnetization of the La_(0.1)Bi_(0.9)FeO_3 sample was improved by heat treatment in the temperature range. When the heat treatment temperatures rose from 25 to 600 oC, the remanence(Mr) and coercivity(Hc) of the La_(0.1)Bi_(0.9)FeO_3 compound almost remained the same, and increased rapidly to 0.134 emu/g and 7.1 KOe on further increasing the heat treatment temperature to 650 oC.