Fluorine doping effects on the magnetic and electric properties of BiFeO3

Electron-doping introduced fluorine (F) replacement of the oxygen in BiFeO3 (BFO) can be compensated by the valence change of iron from Fe3+ to Fe2+. We successfully incorporate F in BFO by sol-gel method. F-doping is found to significantly enhance the ferromagnetism up to nearly two order for x = 0.25 compared with x = 0. This study provides direct evidence that the multiferroic characteristics of BiFeO3 are sensitive to the anion doping, such as F, providing a convenient alternative to manipulate the magnetization and electric polarization in multiferroic oxides.

Graphical abstractDownload high-res image (96KB)Download full-size imageHighlights► F is successfully incorporated in BiFeO3, which has been confirmed by XRD and XPS. ► Remaance magnetization enhances up to two orders, which is sensitive to F doping. ► Leakage in electric polarization becomes large although the carriers are still low. ► Fe2+ and Fe3+ are confirmed after F doping in BiFeO3.