Enhanced Magnetic and DC Electrical Properties of Sm-Doped Bi2Fe4O9 Nanoplates Synthesized by Sol–Gel Method

Abstract

In this work, Bi[Formula: see text]SmxFe4O9 ([Formula: see text], 0.02, 0.06, 0.08, 0.1) nanoplates with an average thickness of 62–125[Formula: see text]nm were synthesized using a sol–gel method. The samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. The magnetic measurements show that the nanoplates have weak ferromagnetic ordering. The saturation magnetization of the nanoplates increases as the Sm content increases. The DC electric transport properties were studied by measuring the temperature dependence of the resistivity in the temperature range 300–680[Formula: see text]K. The materials show typical semiconductor features, and the conduction mechanisms are governed by electron and small polaron hopping in the low and high temperature measurement ranges, respectively. The Sm doping results in a significant enhancement in the electrical conductivity of the Bi2Fe4O9 nanoplates.