Influence of individual phases on the magnetoelectric coupling and electromechanical response in (1-x)Ba0.83Ca0.10Sr0.07TiO3-xBiFeO3 (x = 0 ∼ 0.30) multiferroic composites

Abstract BaTiO3 based composites have been widely utilized to achieve better ferroelectric and magnetoelectric characteristics. BiFeO3 is one of materials that exhibit superior magnetoelectric characteristics in single phase. In this work, (1 − x)Ba0.83Ca0.10Sr0.07TiO3-xBiFeO3 (x = 0–0.30) multiferroic composites have been synthesized using mechano-chemical activation method. The strategy is to achieve optimum ferroelectric and ferromagnetic properties without hampering the inherent dielectric and ferroelectric characteristics of Ba0.83Ca0.10Sr0.07TiO3. The synthesized composites have shown diphasic nature with homogeneous grains and clearly distinguishable grain boundaries. The composition with x = 0.10 exhibits superior electrical properties, which are attributed to optimum resistivity and increased tetragonal lattice distortion introduced by BiFeO3 addition. The modification in bond length and bond angle leads to a significant enhancement in ferromagnetic characteristics of prepared composites. The composites have shown a gradual increase in magnetoelectric characteristics and substantial DC magnetic field dependence. This work provides an optimum composition and feasible route to prepare high-performance magnetoelectric composites.