BaTiO3-ferrite composites with magnetocapacitance and hard/soft magnetic properties

BaTiO3-ferrite multiphase composites were prepared starting from di-phase mixtures of -Fe2O3 and BaTiO3 powders. During the sintering step, the formation of small amounts of secondary phases with multifunctional character as BaFe12O19 or Ba12Ti28Fe15O84 was promoted. The resulting multiphase ceramic compounds show interesting dielectric, magnetic and small magnetocapacitance effect at low temperature. The coexistence of different magnetic phases with contrasting coercivities (hard/soft) was detected by the presence of wasp-waisted' M(H) hysteresis loops and first-order reversal curve analysis. The present approach demonstrates that active materials can be realised by controlling in situ reactions at the interfaces in ferroelectric-magnetic oxide composites.