Lanthanum doped BiFeO3 powders: Syntheses and characterization

A soft chemistry route was employed to fabricate single-phase lanthanum modified BiFeO3 (BFO) powders. Effects of lanthanum concentration on the phase formation, grain size and morphologies of BFO powders were systematically investigated. X-ray diffraction results indicated that perovskite phase have been synthesized at the temperature of 850 °C/2 h while infrared data indicates no traces of carbonate. Raman analysis reveals that lanthanum atom substitutes bismuth into the BFO site. A homogeneous size distribution of BFO powders was evidenced by scanning electron microscopy.