IMF2017

BiFeO₃ is a multiferroic magnetoelectric material with a rhomboedrally distorted perovskite structure (R3c space group) that presents ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic ordering at room temperature with elevated Curie (T_C ~ 1103 K) and Néel (T_N ~ 643 K) temperatures. However, the formation of undesired phases in polycrystalline BiFeO₃, mainly Bi₂₅FeO₃₉ and Bi₂Fe₄O₉, inhibits the electric, magnetic and magnetoelectric characterizations. In this context, alternative protocols for synthesize single-phased BiFeO₃ have been intensively studied in the last years. In this work, high-energy ball milling allied to fast sintering were applied to achieve nanostructured powders and Spark-Plasma Sintering (SPS) was used to synthesize nanostructured monolithic BiFeO₃ samples. The structural, microstructural and electric properties of the processed samples were investigated and correlated to the synthesis protocol. However, the formation of undesired phases in polycrystalline BiFeO₃, mainly Bi₂₅FeO₃₉ and Bi₂Fe₄O₉, inhibits the electric, magnetic and magnetoelectric characterizations. In this context, alternative protocols for synthesize single-phased BiFeO₃ have been intensively studied in the last years. In this work, high-energy ball milling allied to fast sintering were applied to achieve nanostructured powders and Spark-Plasma Sintering (SPS) was used to synthesize nanostructured monolithic BiFeO₃ samples.