Simultaneous regulation of photoabsorption and ferromagnetism of NaTaO3 by Fe doping

$NaTa_{1-x}Fe_xO_3$ ($0{\leq}x{\leq}0.40$) nanocubes were synthesized by a relatively low temperature hydrothermal method, using $Ta_2O_5$, $FeCl_3$ and NaOH as the precursors. The UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra showed that $NaTa_{1-x}Fe_xO_3$ had significant visible-light-absorbing capability, and the absorption edge of $NaTaO_3$ shifted to longer wavelength with the increase of Fe dopants. Moreover, $NaTa_{1-x}Fe_xO_3$ exhibited room-temperature ferromagnetism when $Fe^{3+}$ occupied $Ta^{5+}$ sites in $NaTaO_3$ crystal lattice. The ferromagnetism is mainly attributed to the superexchange interactions between doped $Fe^{3+}$, rather than the contribution of oxygen vacancies caused by Fe doping. Therefore, Fe doping can simultaneously regulate the optical and magnetic properties of $NaTaO_3$ semiconductor, which will enable its potential applications in multifunctional optical-electronics and opticalspintronics devices.