Magnetic properties of ferrite-titanate nanostructured composites synthesized by the polyol method and consolidated by spark plasma sintering

Multiferroic systems formed by a mixing of a ferroelectric phase and a ferrimagnetic phase are receiving significant attention because of their wide possibilities for tailoring properties. In this work, the magnetic properties of the cobalt ferrite-barium titanate system were investigated on samples prepared by an original combination of synthesis methods. Cobalt ferrite and barium titanate nanoparticles were synthesized separately by hydrolysis of the metal acetates in a polyol method. Both materials were mixed in a 1:1 ratio and consolidated by spark plasma sintering at 500 degrees C for 5 min. A high density nanostructured ceramic was obtained with grains smaller than 100 nm and a density about 80% of the theoretical value. Magnetic hysteresis loops showed a hard magnet behavior, with a coercive field larger than cobalt ferrite alone prepared under the same conditions. delta M reversible magnetization plots exhibited dipolar interactions with a maximum at the coercive field. These results are interpreted in terms of an efficient mixing of the components, which strongly decreases the magnetic percolation in the composite by separating ferrite grains by titanate grains. (C) 2013 American Institute of Physics.