Phase separation in Sr doped BiMnO3 （Bil_xSrxMnO3, x = 0.4-0.6） was studied by means of temperature-dependent high-resolution neutron powder diffraction （NPD）, high resolution X-ray powder diffraction （XRD）, and physical property measurements. All the experiments indicate that a phase separation occurs at the temperature coinciding with the reported charge ordering temperature （Tco） in the literature. Below the reported TCO, both the phases resulting from the phase separation crystallize in the orthorhombically distorted perovskite structure with space group Imma. At lower temperature, these two phases order in the CE-type antiferromagnetic structure and the A-type antiferromagnetic structure, respectively. However, a scrutiny of the high-resolution NPD and XRD data at different temperatures and the electron diffraction exper- iment at 300 K did not manifest any evidence of a long-range charge ordering （CO） in our investigated samples, suggesting that the anomalies of physical properties such as magnetization, electric transport, and lattice parameters at the TCO might be caused by the phase separation rather than by a CO transition.
Different magnetodielectric effects were observed in Bi1-xGdxFeOa ceramics depending on gadolinium content. A positive one was observed in the samples with x ≤ 0.10 at 295 K and 16 K, and a negative one in the sample with x = 0.4 at 16 K. Structure analysis by x-ray diffraction （XRD） reveals that the samples crystallize in the R3c structure （ferroelectrics） for x 〈 0.08 and in the Pbnm structure （paraelectrics） for x ≥ 0.3 at room temperature. Temperaturedependent dielectric response and x-ray diffraction confirm the occurrence of a structural transition in the Pbnm phase at low temperature for the samples with x ≤0.4. While the positive magnetodielectric effects can be attributed to a coupling of magnetic and crystallographic structures of the R3c phase, the observed negative magnetodielectric effect in the Pbnm phase can be associated with a low-temperature modification of the Pbnm structure. The observed dualsigned magnetodielectric effects suggest that the Bi1-xGdxFeO3 oxides are a good prototype for understanding the magnetodielectric coupling mechanism in this kind of materials.
