Temperature-dependent structural and magnetic properties of (x) NiFe2O4+(1-x)BaTiO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1; Δx=0.1) multiferroic solid solutions

Multi-functional materials such as two-phase particulate magnetoelectrics (MEs) are of recent interest due to their assuring device applications at ultra-low power consumption above room temperature. In the present work, high-quality solid solutions of NiFe2O4 (NFO) and BaTiO3 (BTO) with different volume ratios were prepared by using the solid-state reaction route, and the conjunctive response of their physical properties was explored by studying structural and magnetic properties as a function of temperature. The temperature-dependent x-ray diffraction and Raman data clearly assure the effectiveness of the BTO lattice strain on the NFO phase. The agreement between the magnetic moment values estimated from structural, spectroscopic and magnetic data establishes the structure-property correlations in (x)NFO+(1 - x)BTO (x = 0 - 1;Delta x = 0.1) solid solutions. The change in magnetic parameters due to strain generated in BTO of these composites gives the scope for futuristic magnetic switching devices without applying any external magnetic field.