Multiferroic properties of nanocrystalline BiFe sub(1-x)Ni sub(x)O sub(3) (x = 0.0-0.15) perovskite ceramics

Ni doped BiFeO sub(3) (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1 and 0.15) nanocrystalline ceramics were synthesized by the solution combustion method (SCM) to obtain optimal multiferroic properties. The effect of Ni doping on structural, morphological, ferroelectric, magnetic and dielectric properties of BiFeO sub(3) was studied. The structural investigations by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern confirmed that BiFe sub(1-x) Ni sub(x)O sub(3) ceramics have rhombhohedral perovskite structure. The ferroelectric hysteresis measurements for BiFe sub(1-x)Ni sub(x)O sub(3) (x = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15) compound at room temperature found to exhibit unsaturated behavior and presents partial reversal of polarization. The magnetic measurements demonstrated an enhancement of ferromagnetic property due to Ni doping in BiFe0 sub(3) when compared with undoped BiFeO sub(3). The variation of dielectric constant with temperature in BiFe sub(0.9)Ni sub(0.1)O sub(3) and BiFe sub(0.85)Ni sub(0.15)O sub(3) samples evidenced an apparent dielectric anomaly around 350 [degrees]C and 300 [degrees]C which corresponds to antiferromagnetic to paramagnetic phase transition of (T sub(N)) of BiFeO sub(3). The dependence of room temperature dielectric properties on frequency signifies that both dielectric constant ( epsilon ) and dielectric loss (tan delta ) are the strong function of frequency. The results show that solution combustion method leads to synthesis of an excellent and reproducible BiFe sub(1-x)Ni sub(x)O sub(3) multiferroic ceramics.