Enhanced ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism in La 1− x Bi x CrO 3 by Bi 3+ substitution

The ferroelectric and magnetic properties of the perovskite solid solution, (1 − x )LaCrO 3– x BiCrO 3 , have been investigated. While pure LaCrO 3 does not show ferroelectric hysteresis even at 77 K, the solid solution of La 1− x Bi x CrO 3 with x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.35 displays ferroelectric hysteresis, with the remanent polarization increasing with the increase of the Bi 3+ content. Using a superconducting quantum interference device, the magnetization was measured versus temperature under field cooling (FC) and zero field cooling (ZFC) conditions. Magnetic hysteresis has been found in La 1− x Bi x CrO 3 (0.1 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.3) below the Néel temperature, T N . With the increase of Bi 3+ content, T N decreases, while the magnetization below T N is enhanced. While the ferroelectric and magnetic properties could be due to different origins, the Bi substitution results in both ferroelectric and magnetic enhancements in the (1 − x )LaCrO 3– x BiCrO 3 solid solutions.