Advanced Ceramics Progress

Advanced Ceramics Progress

Multiferroic Performance of BCZT/CFO Composites Tailored by Antimony and Yttrium Doping

Document Type : Original Research Article

Authors
1 MS, Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran
2 Associate Professor, Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yasouj University, Yasouj, Iran
3 Professor, Department of Physics, Yasouj University, Yasouj, 75918-74934, Iran
10.30501/acp.2025.551238.1185
Abstract
In this research, magnetic CoFe2O4 (CFO) and ferroelectric Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 (BCZT) compounds were synthesized via combustion and sol-gel methods, respectively. The influence of antimony and yttrium oxides on the electrical and magnetic properties of these two compounds was investigated. Following the selection of an appropriate dopant from these two additives, the composite materials were subsequently fabricated using the conventional solid-state method. Microstructure and phase analyses were carried out using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The improved electrical and magnetic characteristics of BCZT/Sb and CFO/Y materials were the key factors that justified their selection as constituent components for composite fabrication. The measured dielectric permittivity of the composite samples indicated that all composite samples are dielectric. However, the unusually high dielectric loss observed in the composite samples confirmed their conductive nature. Regarding the ferroelectric behavior, saturated P–E loops were observed in composites containing 30 and 40% cobalt ferrite. A further increase in the cobalt ferrite content, however, resulted in leakage current due to the electrical conductivity of the magnetic phase, preventing polarization from reaching saturation. The pure BCZT/Sb ceramic exhibited a high dielectric constant of 4600, a remanent polarization of 8.06 μC/cm², and a saturation polarization of 13.17 μC/cm². Upon incorporation of CFO/Y, the composite with 70 wt% CFO showed a saturation magnetization of 38.49 emu/g, a remanent magnetization of 11.28 emu/g, and a coercive magnetic field of 0.26 kOe. Meanwhile, the ferroelectric coercive field increased from 4.1 kV/cm (BCZT) to 42 kV/cm (BCZT–70CFO), indicating stronger domain pinning. These results confirm the successful integration of ferroelectric and magnetic phases, offering promising potential for magnetoelectric applications.
Keywords

Subjects


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  • Receive Date 05 October 2025
  • Revise Date 01 November 2025
  • Accept Date 02 January 2026