Influence of Synthetic Conditions on the Crystal Structure, Optical and Magnetic Properties of o-EuFeO3 Nanoparticles

In this paper, powders consisting of o-EuFeO3 nanoparticles were obtained by the co-precipitation method using two different precipitating agents (NH3 and (NH4)(2)CO3 solutions; corresponding products were denoted as samples S.1 and S.2, respectively) and followed by annealing for 1 h at 750, 850, and 950 & DEG;C. The magnetic, optical, and physicochemical characteristics of S.1 and S.2 were evaluated by means of EDXS (energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy), PXRD (powder X-ray diffraction), TG/DSC (thermogravimetry/differential scanning calorimetry), FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), UV-Vis DRS (Ultraviolet-Visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy), and VSM (vibrating-sample magnetometry). The o-EuFeO3 structure was shown to be stable at annealed temperatures, and t = 850 & DEG;C is recommended for synthesizing such substances. The average size of o-EuFeO3 crystals is around 27 (S.1) and 34 nm (S.2). The results revealed a homogeneous distribution of the main elements on the samples' surfaces, with morphology consisting of isometric and highly agglomerated nanoparticles. The bandgap value (E-g) of the synthesized samples was 2.31 (S.1) and 2.39 eV (S.2). Besides, these nanoparticles appeared to possess paramagnetic behavior.