Magnetoelectric investigations on poly (vinylidene fluoride)/CoFe2O4 flexible electrospun membranes

Flexible and free standing magnetoelectric polymer nanocomposite electrospun membranes, which exhibit both ferroelectric and magnetic orderings simultaneously, are fabricated. CoFe2O4 nanoparticles of different weight percentages are embedded as fillers in poly (vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) matrix. The percentage of electroactive β phase is analysed using XRD and FTIR studies. Investigations on the effect of filler on the structural, functional, morphological properties are discussed. CoFe2O4 content in PVDF plays a main role in controlling the α and β phase conformations and makes significant effect on the ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties of PVDF/CoFe2O4 membranes. The domain switching behaviour of these ferroelectric membranes is confirmed through DC-EFM studies. In addition to the coexistence of ferroelectric and ferromagnetic orderings, the cross coupling between them have been proved.