Structural and magnetic properties of the Bi1-xLuxFeO3 (x = 0.00, 0.02 and 0.04) system

This paper reports the synthesis and characterization of Bi1-xLuxFeO3 (x = 0.00, 0.02 and 0.04) produced by solid-state reaction, in order to evaluate the influence of lutetium on the structural and magnetic properties of bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3). The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and magnetic analysis by vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) in temperature range from 50 to 320 K. The obtained results allowed to confirm the formation of crystalline materials of rhombohedral structure, space-group R3c (161), with defined morphology and particle sizes between 2.25 and 4.5 μm. The Lu3+ insertion in structure generated an increasing in magnetization, purity of BiFeO3 and a decrease in the synthesis temperature compared with the reported in the literature.