Hydrothermal synthesis and properties of NiFe₂O₄@BaTiO₃ composites with well-matched interface

NiFe₂O₄@BaTiO₃ multiferroic composite particles were produced by a simple hydrothermal method in two steps: preparing NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles and then synthesizing core-shell nanocomposites. Multiferroic composite ceramics were sintered from these powders. X-ray diffraction, Raman scattering and energy dispersive x-ray analyses indicated that the core-shell composites with a NiFe₂O₄ core and BaTiO₃ shell were formed in the hydrothermal environment. Different types of sharp interfaces were self-assembled owing to the minimization of direct elastic energy. The saturation magnetization of the composites linearly increased with the NiFe₂O₄ content while the dielectric constant decreased. A dielectric peak appeared at around 460 °C because of the oxygen vacancies in the BaTiO₃ ceramics. It resulted in an enhancement of magnetic permeability in the composites, indicating magnetoelectric coupling that was also observed by direct magnetoelectric measurements.