Electron irradiation induced modification of Bi2Fe4O9 nanoparticles

The effect of electron irradiation on the structural, electric and dielectric properties of Bi2Fe4O9 nanoparticles synthesized by standard sol-gel method is studied and reported in this paper. The samples were subjected to different doses of electrons of energy 8 MeV. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), dielectric properties, AC conductivity and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the nanoparticles were studied before and after irradiation. DSC curve shows a shift in crystallization peak positions on electron irradiation. The dielectric spectrum and AC electrical conductivity of the nanoparticles were found to increase after irradiation.