Abstract

• This research work was concerned with the preparation and characterization of bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3), a trigonal or rhombohedral distorted perovskite structure, by sol-gel method. In this method, BiFeO3 powder was prepared by using bismuth(III) nitrate and iron(III) nitrate as starting materials. The precursor powders were calcined at different temperatures (450, 550, 650 and 750 C) for 4 h. The prepared samples were characterized by XRD, TG-DTA and FT IR and SEM techniques. The calcined temperature of 550 C was selected as optimum temperature due to high crystallinity and average nanocrystallite size. Some physicochemical properties (pH, moisture, bulk density, porosity and surface area) of the prepared BiFeO3 powder sample calcined at 550 C were also determined.