Effect of Sc Addition on Magnetic and Optical Properties of YFeO₃ Nano Particles

Multiferroic Sc-doped YFeO₃ nanoparticles were obtained by a low-temperature solid-state reaction route. It indicated that with the addition of Sc, nanosized YFeO₃ powders were obtained at 800 ℃, and the orthorhombic phase was transformed into the hexagonal structure. Magnetic hysteresis loop illustrated the magnetic property of YFeO₃ nanoparticles improved with Sc doping. The maximum magnetization of the powders was about 4.00 emu/g, showing that the energy gap can be reduced to 2.25 eV and thus the doping nanoparticles can be used in optical field. Therefore, the optical and magnetic properties of the material can be obviously enhanced with Sc doping, proving its potential application in magnetic and optical fields.