Enhancement in electrical and magnetic properties of (Li0.5Ga0.5)2+ and (Li0.5Er0.5)2+-Modified BiFeO3-BaTiO3 ceramics

Abstract Effects of (Li0.5Ga0.5)2+ and (Li0.5Er0.5)2+ doping on the phase structure, electrical, and magnetic properties of 0.75BiFeO3-0.25BaTiO3 (BFO-BT) ceramics were investigated and analyzed. X-ray diffraction measurements suggested a rhombohedral distorted perovskite structure and no structural transformation with the increasing doping content. Rietveld refinement results revealed that (Li0.5Ga0.5)2+ ions were more susceptible to replace the B-sites and (Li0.5Er0.5)2+ ions tended to substitute the A-sites. A significant improvement in the dielectric loss, ferroelectricity, and magnetization was observed for both (Li0.5Ga0.5)2+ and (Li0.5Er0.5)2+-modified BFO–BT ceramics without the addition of MnO2 compared to undoped ceramic samples. Remnant magnetization (Mr) of 0.35 emu/g was reached for LG6. The enhanced magnetic properties were related to the suppressed cycloidal spin structure, the presences of the local lattice disorder and the magnetic impurities induced by the (Li0.5Ga0.5)2+ and (Li0.5Er0.5)2+ substitution.