Multiferroic and magnetoelectric properties of Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3-CoFe2O4 core-shell nanocomposite

Lead-free magnetoelectric (ME) composites with remarkable ME coupling are required for the realization of eco-friendly multifunctional devices. This work demonstrates the ME properties of Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3-CoFe2O4 (BCZT-CFO) core-shell composites synthesized via co-sol-gel technique. Room temperature ferroelectric and ferromagnetic characterization have shown that the samples are magnetic and ferroelectric along with an adequate magnetoelectric coupling of 12.15 mV/(cm Oe). The strong dependence of electric parameters on applied magnetic DC bias fields demonstrated in ferroelectric and magnetoelectric measurements provide a framework for the development of potential magnetoelectric devices. Also, the high sensitivity of magnetoelectric coupling towards the applied AC magnetic field can be used for its application in magnetoelectric sensors. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.