Effect of europium substitution on the magnetic and optical properties of nanostructured bismuth ferrite

Single phase Bi(1-x)EuxFeO3 multiferroic nanoparticles were synthesized by tartaric acid assisted sol-gel method and the effect of Eu substitution in Bismuth ferrite (BFO) was investigated on the structural, optical and magnetic properties. It was observed a gradual structural transition from rhombohedral R3c to orthorhombic Pbnm with the increase of Eu content resulted from the lattice distortion in BFO system due to the smaller radius of Eu3+ ions. The optical band gap of BFO was altered with respect to the change of particle sizes with the increment of Eu content. The magnetic property of Bi(1-x)EuxFeO 3 system was found to be increased with the increase of Eu substitution. This might be attributed to the substitution-induced suppression of spiral spin modulation caused by an appropriate substitution of Eu in the BFO system. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.