LAUSR

Abstract In order to create a new NiTiO3-based system of ferromagnetic material at room temperature, powdered ABO3 ilmenite structure titanates with the composition Ni1-xAxTiO3, where A = Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, and Zn, and x = 0, 0.05, and 0.1, were synthesized using the sol-gel method. X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Raman spectroscopy (RAMAN), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), vibrating-sample magnetometer (VSM), and TF-2000 analysis methods were employed to systematically investigate the crystal sizes, morphologies, structural, magnetic, and ferroelectric properties of the samples. Fe- (x = 0.1), Cu- (x = 0.05), and Zn- (x = 0.05) doped NiTiO3 samples displayed ferromagnetic properties at room temperature. The polarization-electric field curves confirmed the ferroelectric properties of these samples, which were present at room temperature. These ferroelectric properties were lower than in the undoped NiTiO3 samples, and the ferromagnetic properties in the samples had different origins. The ferromagnetism in Fe- (x = 0.1) doped sample was attributed to spin splitting of transition metal and oxygen vacancies, while, oxygen octahedra distortion caused by Ni site substitution was responsible for the ferromagnetism in Cu- (x = 0.05), Zn- (x = 0.05) doped samples. This is because the ferromagnetic phase with non-uniform domain structure, when mixed into the ferroelectric phase in the presence of applied electric field acts as pores, and breaks the electric circuit, resulting in a decrease in ferroelectric parameters.