Role of Hydroxide Precipitation Conditions in the Formation of Nanocrystalline BiFeO3

Abstract

Nanocrystalline bismuth orthoferrite (BiFeO3) was prepared by soft chemistry. The hydroxide coprecipitation method was shown to influence the formation of nanocrystalline bismuth orthoferrite. Synthetic conditions were determined to prepare nanocrystalline BiFeO3 free of other phases of the Bi2O3–Fe2O3 system with a narrow crystallite-size distribution and the smallest crystallite size of about 6–7 nm.