Synthesis And Properties Of Multiferroic A2BB'O6@ABO3 Core/Shell Nanocomposite

Multiferroic materials with coexistence of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism have recently attracted great interest due to their significant technological potentials in a wide variety of novel multifunctional devices. The coupling between the two ferroic orders could produce magnetoelectric (ME) effect. Materials processing this effect become magnetized when placed in an electric field and electrically polarized when placed in a magnetic field. They can be single phase and composite materials. Due to the primary requirement on the coexistence of magnetic and electric dipoles in an asymmetric structure, the number of single phase ME materials is limited. In this study, we developed a synthetic procedure for core/shell multiferroic A₂BB’O₆@ABO₃ nanocomposites to overcome the limitations of single phase ME materials. The morphology, crystallinity and composition of these core/shell nanocomposites were carefully characterized using X-ray diffraction, electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy among others. Their magnetoelectric properties have also been investigated. These perovskite-structured nanocomposites have promising potentials for advanced technological applications.