Tunable multiferroic properties of cerium doped bismuth ferrite

Multiferroic Bi$_{1-x}$Ce$_x$FeO$_3$ ($x =0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2$) nanoparticles were prepared using an auto-combustion method. The effect of cerium substitution on the crystal structure, electrical and magnetic properties of BiFeO$_3$ (Bismuth Ferrite) was studied. X-raydiffraction spectra revealed that Ce substitution increases the lattice parameters. The average particle size estimated from TEM images is less than 50 nanometers. According to the magnetic hysteresis loops, it was found that the enhanced magnetization which results from increasing Ce concentration is attributed to the nanoparticle size and enhanced ferroelectric polarization. The magnetization and ferroelectric polarization were found to exhibit an exotic mutual relationship. The samples were found to exhibit relaxation of dielectric polarization. This rare combination of Ce doped BiFeO$_3$ by auto-combustion method has not been reported before.