Room-temperature coexistence of electric and magnetic orders in NiTiO3 and effect of ethylene glycol

In this paper, NiTiO3 powder was synthesized by the sol-gel method. Additionally, NiTiO3 nanoparticles embedded in ethylene glycol (EG) mixtures ratios of Ni + Ti:EG = 1:0, Ni + Ti:EG = 1:1, and Ni + Ti:EG = 1:3 were considered. The phase structure, microstructure, electrical and magnetic properties of these compounds were investigated to reveal the effect of EG addition on these properties. Results indicate that all samples showed coexistence of ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic properties at room temperature, in agreement with predictions made by earlier theoretical calculations. EG addition was found to enhance the ferroelectric performance but reduce the antiferromagnetic properties. Addition of EG resulted in phase transition from R-3 to R3c due to various arrangements of cations in the structures and structural distortion which may be responsible for the differences observed in NiTiO3 powder magnetic and ferroelectric performances.