Investigation on optical and magnetic properties of BiFeO₃–SmFeO₃ solid solution

In this communication, the preliminary structural analysis, high-resolution Raman spectra, optical band gap, and magnetization have been studied in polycrystalline sample of (BiFeO₃)_1-x(SmFeO₃)_x (BFO–SFO); (with x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3) ceramics. The X-ray structural analysis confirmed the formation of single phase with rhombohedrally distorted perovskite structure of the materials. The crystallite size of the materials decreases with increasing SmFeO₃ contents in BiFeO₃. Raman spectroscopy indicates 13 active phonon modes corresponding to (BiFeO₃) rhombohedrally distorted R3c structure. The band gap of the studied materials decreases from 2.27 to 2.02 eV which may be due to the restructuring of molecular orbitals. The photocatalytic behavior of the materials is improved as a result of these findings. Substitution with SmFeO₃ on BiFeO₃ will enhance the ferromagnetic properties of the materials.