Influence of substitution of different transition metal elements (Mn, Cr, Co) on the properties of Bi0.88Sm0.12FeO3-based ceramics

•The effect of different transition metal elements replacements on properties was investigated.•The best ferroelectric properties were obtained in BSF-Cr sample, where Pr = 18.30 μC/cm2.•The best magnetic properties were obtained in BSF-Co sample, where Mr = 110.8 emu/mol.•The enhanced ferroelectric (Pr = 10.82mC/cm2) and magnetic properties (Mr = 73.3 emu/mol) were obtained in BSF-CrCo samples. In this paper, the transition metal elements modified Bi0.88Sm0.12Fe0.97M0.03O3 (M = Mn, Cr, Co, Mn0.5Cr0.5, Mn0.5Co0.5, Cr0.5Co0.5) ceramics were synthesized by rapid liquid phase sintering. The effect of different transition metal elements on the structure and characteristics of BiFeO3-based ceramic were studied. Structural refinement revealed the coexistence of rhombohedral R3c phase, orthorhombic Pna21 phase and a small amount of Pbnm phase of all samples, and the element type had little effect on the phase composition. According to the XPS analysis, Co and Mn elements can be regarded as hard additives, and Cr element can be regarded as soft additives. Due to the different electronic structures of transition metal elements, different element substitutions have different effects on the electrical and magnetic properties of BiFeO3. The results show that the addition of Cr improved the electrical properties of BSF-based ceramics, and the best ferroelectric properties obtained in the BSF-Cr sample, where Pr = 18.30 μC/cm2. The magnetic properties of Co substituted samples were significantly improved, and the maximum remanent magnetization obtained in the BSF-Co sample, where Mr = 110.8 emu/mol, which may be attributed to the collinear magnetic structure induced by Co-substitution. Finally, the simultaneously enhanced ferroelectric and magnetic properties were obtained in the Cr and Co co-substituted composition, where Pr = 10.82 μC/cm2, Mr = 73.3 emu/mol. Multiple ion substitution is a very effective method to optimize the properties of BiFeO3.