Magnetic properties of hydrothermally synthesized BiFeO3 nanoparticles

BiFeO3 nanoparticles with diameters in the range 65–90 nm were prepared using a hydrothermal technique. Low-temperature magnetic measurements showed ferromagnetic behavior of the samples below a certain temperature. The magnetization values were drastically reduced in the case of samples having larger diameters. This was explained as arising due to a reduction of the number of uncompensated spins associated with Fe3+ ions as particle diameter was increased. A surface spin disorder is believed to be responsible for this property.