Electric transport through perovskite La(Fe,Ga)O₃ nanowires formed by electrospinning

Orthoferrite perovskite LaFeO₃ has been of great interest with its versatility for potential applications in electromagnetic, catalytic, and sensing applications. Nanowires have shown great potential as active building blocks for assembling a variety of nanoscale devices, nevertheless far less is known about the characteristics of LaFeO₃ nanowires. Here, we show that LaFeO₃ nanowires with Ga doping can be produced by electrospinning, yielding the formation of specific nanostructure of fine crystallite array arranged along nanowire framework. The structure and chemical state analyses were performed to reveal the nanostructural difference induced by Ga substitution. Furthermore, the La(Fe,Ga)O₃ nanowire devices were built and showed the temperature and field dependence on electric transport following the Poole-Frenkel conduction model. The dramatic conductance lowering by Ga doping was observed and explained by the change in trap energy for carrier hopping.