New La1−xCr0.7xEu0.3xFeO3 nanoparticles: Synthesis via wet chemical route, structural characterization for magnetic and dielectric behavior evaluation

Abstract La 1− x Cr 0.7 x Eu 0.3 x FeO 3 nanoparticles were fabricated by micro-emulsion route. The value of x was kept in the range of 0.00 to 0.04. The synthesized nanoparticles were then characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The XRD confirmed the orthorhombic phase and estimated the crystallite size in the range of 30–90 nm. The nanoparticles estimated by SEM were in the range 60–100 nm. The XRD data was further supported by FTIR spectrum. The main FTIR bands observed were: Fe–O (418 cm −1 ), Cr–O (545 cm −1 ), La–O (570 cm −1 ) and Eu–O (416 cm −1 ). After structural elucidation, the La 1− x Cr 0.7 x Eu 0.3 x FeO 3 nanoparticles were subjected to magnetic parameters and dielectric behavior evaluation. The replacement of La 3+ ions, with Cr 3+ and rare earth Eu 3+ exhibited interesting magnetic and dielectric behavior. The LaFeO 3 nanoparticles without any dopants showed the paramagnetic behavior. However as the La 3+ was substituted by Cr 3+ and Eu 3+ , the ferromagnetic behavior was observed. Similarly the dielectric parameters were reduced by the replacement of La 3+ ions with Cr 3+ and Eu 3+ metal ions. The maximum magnetic parameters were observed for La 0.6 Cr 0.28 Eu 0.12 FeO 3 (Coercivity~0.04 T, Saturation magnetization ~0.728 emug −1 and Retentivity ~0.0.6783 emug −1 ). The maximum dielectric constant (23.52 at 1.5×10 −2  GHz) was observed for LaFeO 3 nanoparticles, while the minimum value of dielectric constant (10.32 at 1.5×10 −2  GHz) was exhibited by La 0.8 Cr 0.14 Eu 0.06 FeO 3 nanoparticles.