Abstract
In the present study, composite samples of BaTiO3/(Co0.8Ni0.1Mn0.1Fe1.9Ce0.1O4)(x )(noted as BTO/(CNMFCO)(x)) were prepared and their structural, morphological, optical, magnetic, and magnetoelectric coupling properties were investigated. Firstly, the BaTiO3 and spinel ferrite CNMFCO phases were prepared separately through the sol-gel auto-combustion route, then, the composite samples BTO/(CNMFCO)x were made via the solid-state reaction method. The structural, morphological, optical, magnetic, and magnetoelectric coupling properties were examined using X-rays diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM) coupled with EDX spectrometer, UV-visible diffuse reflectance spectrophotometer (UV-vis DRS), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) techniques, and lock-in amplifier, respectively. The successful preparation of biphasic samples was confirmed by XRD and SEM studies. From SEM images, a compact structure with good density was observed. The mean size of BTO grains decreases with increasing the concentration of the magnetic phase. The optical properties have been explored in the UV-visible light range. The extracted band gap energy (E-g) values showed a reduction with the rising of the magnetic phase content. The analysis of magnetization measurements revealed the magnetic character of different composites. It is found that the saturation (M-s) and remanent (M-r) magnetizations are increasing with the rise in the concentration of the magnetic CNMFCO phase (x %). High magnetoelectric voltage coefficients (alpha(ME)) were attained for different composites with the highest alpha(ME) value of about 22.8 mV/cm.Oe reached in composite with x content of 20%. The high ME coupling in these composites makes these composites promising candidates to be used in multifunctional devices.