Abstract
YFeO3 nanoparticles have been successfully synthesized through reverse micellar method for the first time using tergitol as the surfactant. The nanopowders of YFeO3 were characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and BET surface area studies. Powder X-ray diffraction studies reveal the highly crystalline pure phase with orthorhombic structure of YFeO3 nanoparticles. TEM and SEM studies show that the particles are uniformly distributed with hexagonal shapes with an average grain size of 60 nm. DC-magnetization measurements under an applied magnetic field of (+/- 60 kOe) showed the butterfly shaped hysteresis as well as the room temperature ferroelectricity confirms the multiferroic characteristics in YFeO3 nanoparticles. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of YFeO3 nanoparticles were also studied as a function of temperature at different frequencies. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.