Magnetic and dielectric properties of BiFeO3-La1/3Sr2/3MnO3 hybrid composite ceramics

(1 - x) BiFeO3-xLa(1/3)Sr(2/3)MnO(3) hybrid composite ceramics (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3) are prepared by a solid state sintering method. X-ray diffraction shows that the hybrid composite ceramics mainly consist of BiFeO3 and La1/3Sr2/3MnO3 and no middle phase products. The study of the M-H curve reveals that BiFeO3 is antiferromagnetic with residual magnetism (0.068 emu/g) due to canting of the spin. By introducing La1/3Sr2/3MnO3, weak antiferromagnetism is obviously improved. For composites with x = 0.1, the largest magnetization is observed. On the other hand, with increasing La2/3Sr1/3MnO3, magnetization declines. Additionally, as the content of La2/3Sr1/3MnO3 increase, the dielectric constant is found to be increased, while dielectric loss is found to be reduced. By applying a static magnetic field, a large magnetodielectric (MD) effect is obtained. The largest MD effect is obtained at x = 0.3. The observed large MD effect can be explained in terms of magnetic field induced polarization. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.