Structural, ferroelectric, magnetic and magnetoelectric properties of (1-x) Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 -x La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 lead-free magnetoelectric composites

Abstract

The influence of an additional La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 (LSMO) magnetic phase on the structural, ferromagnetic, ferroelectric, and magnetoelectric properties of Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 (BCZT) ferroelectric phase was studied for composites of (1-x)BCZT -xLSMO (x = 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%). The ferroelectric BCZT sample showed a perovskite single phase formation with a tetragonal crystal structure of the P4mm space group, and the magnetic phase of LSMO presented a rhombohedral crystal structure of R3c space group as shown by XRD. The composite sample with 25% LSMO exhibited large ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties with remnant, saturation polarization, and coercive electric field Pr ~7.74 μC/cm2, Ps ~11.69 μC/cm2 and EC ~12.22 kV/cm with a piezoelectric coefficient d33 ~ 231 pC/N. The magnetic characterization for the composites showed that the sample containing 75% of LSMO revealed the highest remnant, saturation magnetization, and coercive field of Mr ~1.358 emu/g, Ms ~19.17 emu/g, and HC ~33.19 Oe, respectively. Moreover, it revealed the largest magnetoelectric coupling coefficient αME ~2.51 mV/cm.Oe with high coupling quality at a lower applied magnetic field. The results highlight the value of these composites as lead-free room temperature magnetoelectric sensors and actuators.