Synthesis of type-II based (1-x)Ba0.6(Ca1/2Sr1/2)0.4Ti0.5Fe0.5O3+(x)Ni0.40 Zn0.45Cu0.15Fe1.9Eu0.1O4 composites via standard solid state reaction method and investigation of multiferroic properties

A series of multiferroic composites, (1-x)Ba0.6(Ca1/2Sr1/2)0.4Ti0.5Fe0.5O3+(x)Ni0.4Zn0.45 Cu0.15Fe1.9Eu0.1O4 ((1-x)BCSTFO+(x)NZCFEO) where x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 1.0 have been synthesized by standard double sintering ceramic method sintered for 3 hours at 1200°C in air. The X-ray diffraction patterns reveal that the multiferroics and the parent ceramic samples crystallize in simple cubic structure with a slightly distored lattice parameter. The X-ray and bulk density increase with the increasing ferrite content. Consequently, the porosity decreases indicating better crystallization. A decreasing trend in dielectric constant is observed while the relative quality factor (RQF) increases significantly with the increasing ferromagnetic NZCFEO. At the same time, M–H hysteresis loops reveal that ferromagnetic property enhances with the addition of Ni0.40Zn0.45Cu0.15Fe1.9Eu0.1O4 (NZCFEO). The highest values of coercive field ∼ 92 O and saturation magnetization ∼1.37 emu/g are observed for x = 10% and x = 50% compositions respectively. Additionally, the permeability enhances up-to x = 30% but decreases with further doping. The room temperature resistivity rises due to the decrease in hopping mechanism. The samples exhibit a decreasing trend for resistivity with the increase of temperature. The dopant concentration has also shown an impressive impact on the activation energy. As a result, the multiferroic properties of (1-x)BCSTFO+(x)NZCFEO have been significantly improved considering the measured magnetic and ferroelectric properties.