Ferroelectric core/magnetic shell approach to control electric properties of composites

Electrical properties of polymer-inorganic nanocomposites depend strongly on their structure, i.e. distribution of filler phase in a polymer matrix. This factor is especially important in the case of composites consisting of two phases with significantly different properties. To improve electric properties of such composites in this study ferroelectric core/magnetic shell approach is suggested. BaTiO3 core was coated with a SiO2–CoFe2O4 magnetic shell followed by incorporation of thus obtained core/shell particles into a polymer in the presence of external magnetic field to obtain composites featuring with a significantly increased dielectric permittivity. The developed composites may find various applications including embedded capacitors and other electronics devices, as well as sensors, electromagnetic radiation shields etc.