Structural, Dielectric and Magnetic Studies on Sol–Gel Synthesized (x)Mn_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄-(1–x)BiFeO₃ Composite

Magnetoelectric composites comprising of spinel (x) Mn_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ and perovskite (1 – x)BiFeO₃ phases with x = 0.1 and 0.3 were prepared by sol–gel process. The sols of Mn_0.5Zn_0.5Fe₂O₄ (MZFO) and BiFeO₃ (BFO) were synthesized independently using citrate precursor method. The desired proportion of MZFO and BFO sols were mixed and stirred for uniform mixing. The fine powders of the composites were obtained by auto-combustion method. The powders were calcined at 400 °C and subsequently sintered. The structural, microstructural, dielectric and magnetic studies were carried out on these composites. The XRD pattern showed the presence of MZFO and BFO phases which corroborates the composition. The frequency dependence of dielectric constant and dielectric loss values exhibited a decreasing trend with increasing frequency. The temperature dependent dielectric constant showed the presence of anomaly peaks, which indicated the existence of magnetoelectric coupling. The magnetic results demonstrate ferromagnetic nature of the composites.