  There have been a large number of papers on bismuth ferrite (BiFeO3) over the
past few years, trying to exploit its room-temperature magnetoelectric
multiferroic properties. Although these are attractive, BiFeO3 is not the ideal
multiferroic, due to weak magnetization and the difficulty in limiting leakage
currents. Thus there is an ongoing search for alternatives, including such
materials as gallium ferrite (GaFeO3). In the present work we report a
comprehensive study of the perovskite PbTi1-xPdxO3 with 0 < x < 0.3. Our study
includes dielectric, impedance and magnetization measurements, conductivity
analysis and study of crystallographic phases present in the samples with
special attention paid to minor phases, identified as PdO, PbPdO2, and Pd3Pb.
The work is remarkable in two ways: Pd is difficult to substitute into ABO3
perovskite oxides (where it might be useful for catalysis), and Pd is magnetic
under only unusual conditions (under strain or internal electric fields). The
new material, as a PZT derivative, is expected to have much stronger
piezoelectric properties than BiFeO3.
