Reverse Micellar Synthesis, Characterization, Magnetic and Ferroelectric Properties of YFeO3 Nanoparticles

Abstract YFeO 3 nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized through reverse micellar method for the first time using tergitol as the surfactant. The nanopowders of YFeO 3 were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and BET surface area studies. Powder X-ray diffraction studies reveal the highly crystalline pure phase with orthorhombic structure of YFeO 3 nanoparticles. TEM and SEM studies show that the particles are uniformly distributed with hexagonal shapes with an average grain size of 60 nm. DC-magnetization measurements under an applied magnetic field of ( ± 60 kOe) showed the butterfly shaped hysteresis as well as the room temperature ferroelectricity confirms the multiferroic characteristics in YFeO 3 nanoparticles. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of YFeO 3 nanoparticles were also studied as a function of temperature at different frequencies.