Room temperature magnetoelectric coupling effect in CuFe2O4-BaTiO3 core-shell and nanocomposites

•CuFe2O4/BaTiO3 core-shell and mixed nanocomposites were successfully synthesized.•Ferroelectric, magnetic and magnetoelectric (ME) properties were confirmed.•Highest ME coupling coefficient has been noticed in the core-shell material.

Novel magnetoelectric (ME) CuFe2O4@BaTiO3 core-shell and (1-x)BaTiO3-xCuFe2O4 (x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9) composites were prepared by two step sol-gel and a sol-gel followed by a solid state reaction respectively. Crystal structure and microstructure of the samples were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) techniques. The ferroelectric and magnetic properties of the materials were confirmed by polarization versus electric field (P-E) and magnetization versus magnetic field (M-H) measurements respectively. To determine the coupling between ferroelectric and magnetic orderings, ME coupling studies were performed using a lock-in amplifier setup. The highest value of the ME coupling coefficient (α) was noticed for the CuFe2O4@BaTiO3 core-shell (α = 22.5 mV cm−1 Oe−1) sample. Superior ME coupling behavior in the core-shell material is due to better connectivity between the ferroelectric and magnetic phases. The optical measurements indicate the possibility of easy manipulation of the band gap over a range of energies by mere control of the molar ratio of the phases. The smart architecture enables CuFe2O4@BaTiO3 to be a highly promising material for the design of devices based on ME multiferroics.

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