Strain mediated enhancement in magnetoelectric properties of sonochemically synthesized piezoelectric and piezomagnetic composites

Abstract Materials with magneto-electric (ME) properties are of great importance because of their demand in electronic industries. Three dimensional nano-particles of the ME-composites having the general formula (1-x)CoCr0.3Fe1.7O4(CCFO)+(x)BaTiO3(BTO) (x = 0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8 and 1.0) were obtained by comprising the piezoelectric-BTO and piezomagnetic-CCFO phases. The individual phases of CCFO and BTO were synthesized separately by ultrasonic irradiation assisted sonochemical and sol-gel routs. X-ray diffraction patterns (XRD) confirmed the well-crystalline nature of both the phases. BTO and CCFO phases were under tensile strain as confirmed by the variation in lattice constants with varying proportion of BTO and CCFO. An energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy spectrum confirmed the phase purity of the samples and stoichiometric concentration of elements. Magnetic properties were investigated by M − H loop measurements and dielectric properties by using RF impedance analyzer. Dielectric constant increased with the increasing percentage of BTO. The maximum value of ME coefficient (24.7 mV/cm⋅Oe) is observed for the 60%CCFO+40%BTO sample. The obtained results were discussed in the light of grain size, strain and the basic properties of the individual phases. The prepared materials can be applicable in electronic devices where high magneto-electric coefficient is desirable.