A comprehensive study of structural, electrical and ferroelectric properties of NdFeO3-SnO2 nanocomposite

Abstract

Abstract The NdFeO3-SnO2 nanocomposite was successfully prepared using a solid-state reaction route. The dual-phase (orthorhombic and tetragonal) in the NdFeO3-SnO2 composite was confirmed by XRD and then analyzed by Rietveld refinement. In the Raman spectrum, the A1g and B2g modes of SnO2 were observed at 650 cm−1, and 770 cm−1, and 7Ag and 1B1g modes of NdFeO3 were observed at 95 cm−1 and 650 cm−1. The Raman fingerprint modes provide good support for the formation of NdFeO3-SnO2 composite. The optical band gap evaluated by using defused reflectance spectroscopy of the as-prepared composite is found to be 3.60 eV. DC resistivity of the nanocomposite decreased with temperature and the sample exhibited the typical semiconducting behavior. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss decreased with frequency while increased with temperature. AC conductivity of the sample increases with the increase in frequency as well as temperature. P-E plots at different temperatures and electric fields reflected the well-known hysteresis loops and hence established the ferroelectric nature of the sample. The low leakage current of the sample observed in the I-E plot hints towards the possible use of this material in dielectric devices.