Mechanochemical synthesis of multiferroic yttrium manganite

Abstract

Multiferroic yttrium manganite (YMnO3) is known as a material that exhibits both ferromagnetic and ferroelectric properties making it interesting for various technological applications. In this work single-phased YMnO3 was prepared for the first time by mechanochemical synthesis in a planetary ball mill. The YMnO3 can be formed directly from the highly activated constituent oxides, Y2O3 and Mn2O3, after 60 min of milling time and subsequently grows during prolonged milling. The cumulative energy introduced into the system during milling for 60 min was 86 kJ/g. X-ray analysis indicates that the as-prepared samples crystallize majority with hexagonal (P63cm) and minorly with orthorhombic (Pnma) YMnO3 structure. The morphology, structure and chemical composition of the powder were investigated by SEM with EDS and TEM. The magnetic properties of the obtained YMnO3 powders were found to change as a function of milling time in a manner consistent with the variation in the nanocomposite microstructure.