Simultaneously enhanced ferroelectric and magnetic properties of SrTiO3-modified Bi0.88Sm0.12FeO3 ceramics

In the present study, SrTiO 3 was selected to enhance the multiferroic characteristics of Bi 0.88 Sm 0.12 FeO 3 (BSF) ceramics. With increasing SrTiO 3 content, the principal phase of BSF ceramic transitions from rhombohedral R3c to Pna2 1 . Through DSC and dielectric analysis, it was observed that both the Curie temperature and Néel temperature decreased proportionally with the augmentation of SrTiO 3 content. When x = .1, the optimal ferroelectric performance is achieved, and the highest remanent polarization value is 55.47 µC/cm 2 , significantly surpassing that of BSF ceramics. Moreover, the PFM test results showed that as the substitution content increased, the domains in the BSF ceramic gradually transformed from normal ferroelectric domains to polar nanomicro-domains. Magnetic and magnetoelectric results show that when x = .1, the best magnetic properties are obtained, M r = 59.7 emu/mol. The magnetoelectric coefficient α ME initially increased and then decreased with the increasing SrTiO 3 content, reaching its optimum magnetoelectric properties at x = .1, where α ME = .47 mV cm –1 Oe –1 . In summary, when the substitution amount of SrTiO 3 reaches 10%, the ferroelectric, magnetic, and magnetoelectric properties of BSF ceramics are significantly improved.