Structural and magnetic characterization of BiFeO₃ magnetic materials: Impact of alkali elements via XRD, SEM, EDX, VSM, and hysteresis

Abstract

This study investigates the structural, morphological, elemental, and magnetic properties of BiFeO₃ (BFO) nanoparticles synthesized via a chitosan-assisted sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirms a rhombohedral perovskite structure with crystallite sizes ranging from 40-80 nm. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) reveals uniform, well-dispersed grains, while Energy Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDAX) verifies the stoichiometric composition of Bi, Fe, and O. Vibrating Sample Magnetometry (VSM) analysis highlights weak ferromagnetism, attributed to spin canting and the suppression of the spin cycloid structure at the nanoscale. The saturation magnetization (Mₛ) reaches 0.18 emu/g, with enhanced coercivity (Hc) of 450 Gauss at 800°C annealing. These results demonstrate that controlled synthesis parameters significantly influence BFO’s magnetic properties, making it a promising candidate for spintronic, magnetoelectric, and energy storage applications. The study provides valuable insights into optimizing BFO for advanced technological applications by tuning its structural and magnetic characteristics.