Improved ferroelectric and magnetic properties of monoclinic structured 0.8BiFeO3–0.2BaTiO3 magnetoelectric ceramics

Highly dense, single-phase nanostructured ceramics of the 0.8BiFeO3–0.2BaTiO3 multiferroic compound were prepared by mechanosynthesis. Their structural, microstructural and ferroic properties have been significantly improved by means of preventing the formation of residual phases through the mechanosynthesis protocol, mainly by the formation of a monoclinic solid solution (Cm space group), which is reported for multiferroic solid solutions for the first time. Improved remanent polarization and magnetization were obtained and determined as being 2.0 μC cm−2 and 0.02 emu g−1.