Ferromagnetism and optical properties of La1 - x Al x FeO3 nanopowders

La1 - x Al x FeO3 (x = 0.0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5) nanopowders were prepared by polymerization complex method. All prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and UV-vis spectrophotometry (UV-vis). The magnetic properties were investigated using a vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The X-ray results of all samples show the formation of an orthorhombic phase with the second phase of α-Fe2O3 in doped samples. The crystallite sizes of nanoparticles decreased with increasing Al content, and they are found to be in the range of 58.45 ± 5.90 to 15.58 ± 4.64 nm. SEM and TEM images show the agglomeration of nanoparticles with average particle size in the range of 60 to 75 nm. The FT-IR spectra confirm the presence of metal oxygen bonds of O-Fe-O and Fe-O in the FeO6 octahedra. The UV-vis spectra show strong absorption peaks at approximately 285 nm, and the calculated optical band gaps are found to be in the range of 2.05 to 2.09 eV with increasing Al content. The M-H loop of the pure sample is antiferromagnetic, whereas those of the doped samples tend to be ferromagnetic with increasing Al content. The magnetization, remanent magnetization, and coercive field of the Al-doped sample with x = 0.5 are enhanced to 1.665 emu/g, 0.623 emu/g, and 4,087.0 Oe, respectively.