Synthesis of nanocrystalline xCuFe2O4-(1-x)BiFeO3 magnetoelectric composite by chemical method

xCuFe(2)O(4)-(1-x)BiFeO3 spinel-perovskite natiocomposites with x=0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4 were prepared using citrate precursor method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis showed phase formation of xCuFe(2)O(4)-(1-x)BiFeO3 calcined at 500 degrees C. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) shows formation of nanocrystallites of xCuFe(2)O(4)-(1-x)BiFeO3 with an average particle size of 40 run. Variation of dielectric constant and dielectric loss with frequency showed dispersion in the low frequency range. Coercivity, saturation magnetization and squareness have been found to vary with concentration of ferrite phase and annealing temperature due to the increase in crystallite size. Squareness and coercivity increased with an increase in annealing temperature up to 500 degrees C and then decreased with a further increase in temperature to 600 degrees C. Magnetoelectric effect of the nanocomposites was found to be strongly depending on the magnetic bias and magnetic field frequency. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.