Synthesis and Properties of NiFe2O4/BaTiO3 Multiferroic Composites

Through sol-gel and solid state sintering method, xNiFe(2)O(4)/(1-x)BaTiO3 (x =0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6) multiferroic composites, were synthesized. X-Ray diffraction(XRD) result indicates the coexistence of both spinel NiFe2O4 and pervoskite BaTiO3 phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images show that the composites are heterogeneous structure. From the high resolution transmission electron microscopy( HRTEM) image, the interface of the two phases is obviously observed. xNiFe(2)O(4)/(1-x)BaTiO3 composites exhibit both ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties and the polarization-electric field(P-E) loops indicate the ferroelectric property of the composites with the tendency of leakage. The effects of frequency on dielectric constant (epsilon(r)) of composites show epsilon(r) of the composites decrease with increasing the frequency and reach a constant value in the low frequency. The content of the ferromagnetic phase also has influence on the dielectric property. The magnetic measurement of the composites indicates the mangetic properties of the composites originate from NiFe2O4 and the magnetization of composites increases with increasing the content of NiFe2O4.