Magnetoelectric 0.2(CoFe₂O₄)-0.8(Ba_0.85Ca0.15 Zr_0.1Ti_0.9O₃) lead free composite for spintronic applications

Lead free (0.2) CoFe₂O₄ (CFO) – (0.8) Ba_0.85Ca_0.15Zr_0.1Ti_0.9O₃ (BCZT) composite is prepared by mechanical mixing of CFO and BCZT phases. The constituent phases, CFO and BCZT are prepared by sol-gel technique. XRD data shows characteristic peaks of both magnetic and piezoelectric phases without any secondary phases confirming the formation of the composite. Polarization (P) versus Electric field (E) measurements show a proper ferroelectric loop for BCZT with P _max ∼ 4.3 μC/cm² whereas composite shows a leaky behaviour. Room temperature M-H loops show a decrease of magnetization from ∼ 80 emu/g for pure CFO to 17 emu/g for composite. Thus, 0.2 CFO-0.8 BCZT composite shows both electric and magnetic properties at room temperature. (paper)