Study of electric, magnetic properties and improvements in ME effects of NMFOÂ +Â BZT particulate composites

ME composite materials with the general formula (x)Ni0.9Mg0.1Fe2O4 + (1 − x)BaZr0.2Ti0.8O3 (x = 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5) were synthesized by solid state reaction method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) study reveals the coexistence of piezomagnetic and piezoelectric phases without interacting with each other. The cubic spinel structure of Ni0.9Mg0.1Fe2O4 (NMFO) piezomagnetic phase and tetragonal perovskite structure of BaZr0.2Ti0.8O3 (BZT) piezoelectric phase for synthesized composites were confirmed by XRD measurements. The lattice constant of piezomagnetic and piezoelectric phases increases with increase in composition of the substituent. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent of the composites measured as a function of frequency in the range 10 Hz-1 MHz at room temperature are found to decrease rapidly in low frequency regime and remain constant in high frequency regime shows the dielectric dispersion behavior. The magnetic properties of the composites have been studied using M-H hysteresis loops to see the response of the magnetic field on the NMFO phase in the composites. The saturation magnetization increases with increase in the mole% of piezomagnetic phase in the composites. The ME voltage coefficient measured as a function of the applied DC magnetic field; shows maximum value (8.622 mV cm−1 Oe) for (50%)NMFO + (50%)BZT bulk composites. The addition of NMFO and BZT enhances the ME properties of the composites.