Enhanced magnetocapacitance and dielectric property of Co0.65Zn0.35Fe2O4–PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 magnetodielectric composites

• CZFO-PZT composite is chemically synthesized via microwave-assisted post sintering.
• Enhanced magnetocapacitance (MC) behavior have been observed of the composites.
• Improved dielectric properties have been obtained of these composites.
• The maximum MC value of 1.12% has been achieved for x = 0.3 composite.
• The degree of diffuseness is found to increase with increasing ferrite content.

A novel microwave-assisted sintering procedure has been developed to achieve high quality multiferroic composites of x Co0.65Zn0.35Fe2O4 (CZFO)–(1-x) PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) (0.1 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.5) synthesized by sol–gel technique. Formation of two distinct pure phases of as prepared composites is confirmed from the recorded X-ray diffraction (XRD) pattern and field emission scanning electron micrograph at room temperature. Room temperature M (H) hysteresis measurements show soft magnetic behavior of the composites. The increased saturation and spontaneous magnetization reveal the improved magnetic properties of the microwave assisted synthesized composites. The dielectric constant at room temperature is increased noticeably about three times and the dielectric loss of the microwave assisted composites is decreased about 1.2 times as compared to the conventional sintered composites. The degree of diffuseness is found to increase with increasing ferrite content in the composites. Maximum magnetocapacitance (MC) of 1.12% has been achieved for the x = 0.3 microwave assisted synthesized composite. Interestingly the observed MC value for microwave assisted synthesized composites is comparatively higher (for x = 0.2, MC ∼ 0.64%) than the conventionally sintered composites (for x = 0.2, MC ∼ 0.59%) due to greater electromechanical coupling factor of PZT in case of microwave sintering process.