Abstract
Multiferroic composites are highly desirable for next-generation multifunctional smart devices because of their low power consumption, fast data processing, and nonvolatile nature in memory devices. Here we synthesized a series of tri-phase composite of Fe2O3, PbZrO3, and Cr2O3 with general formula 0.8[(1-x)Fe2O3-xPbZrO3]+ 0.2Cr2O3 (x = 0.0, 0.33, 0.66 and 1.0) via a chemical approach. Individual oxides are synthesized by the sol-gel auto-combustion method and the solid-state route is used to mix them. Through structural analysis, the formation of tri-phase composites is confirmed by the presence of peaks belonging to each phase. The morphological study suggested that the composites have a homogeneous distribution of grain size over the surface with small voids. To investigate the ferroelectric nature of these composites the saturation polarization, remanent polarization, and coercivity are calculated from their P-E loops. Using these values, the switching charge density and recoverable energy density are evaluated which highlighted the importance of these composites for fast switching and energy storage devices. The response of variation in polarization by the magnetic field is mapped by magneto-electric coupling measurement. Our results show that these tri-phase composites with ferroelectric and magnetoelectric response are potential candidates for high-density data storage and ME multifunctional devices.