The orthoferrite YFeO3 with orthorhombic perovskite structure (Pnma) has been synthesized by mild hydrothermal method. The temperature-dependent magnetization and hysteresis loops indicate that, due to the superexchange and Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interactions in the crystals, the Fe spins order antiferromagnetically at the Néel temperature 655 K with a weak ferromagnetic moment. The observation of saturation polarization loops at room temperature and 77 K provide evidence for the ferroelectric character of the polycrystalline samples. Its Curie temperature has been obtained from the temperature dependence of the relative permittivities and thermal analysis. As a result, the structure exhibits simultaneously weak ferromagnetic and ferroelectric behavior.
AgNbO3 is a weak ferroelectric with antiferroelectricity due to Ag displacements at room temperature. A dielectric anomaly at 250 K, which has not been observed previously, reveals a transition between the weak ferroelectric phase (M1 phase) at the higher temperature and a new ferroelectric phase (M0 phase) at the lower temperature in AgNbO3. This transition was further verified by the pyroelectric current and differential scanning calorimetry measurements. The spontaneous polarization value is found to be much larger in the M0 phase than that of the M1 phase. A well‐defined saturating ferroelectric hysteresis loop can also be observed at 77 K, showing a remnant polarization value of 2.4 μC/cm2 and a coercive field of 25 kV/cm. All the above results indicate that the larger polarization of the M0 phase mainly comes from the alignment of the antiferroelectric displacements of the Ag atoms.
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