Investigation on multifunctional properties of 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3Â system by ferroelectric, magnetoelectric and photovoltaic studies
ABSTRACT :
The recently discovered lead free ferroelectric 0.5Ba(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3-0.5(Ba0.7Ca0.3)TiO3Â (BZT-BCT) system having large piezoelectric coefficient attracted immense research interest in several fields such as electro-caloric, electro-optic, energy storage, etc. In the present work, the additional multifunctional characteristics of the compound were explored. In this regard, the field-induced structural transformation and its influence on other physical characteristics were investigated. Additionally, the magnetoelectric (ME) studies on BZT-BCT/Ni heterostructure film and BZT-BCT/NiFe2O4 laminate composites revealed giant ME voltage coefficients. Also, enhanced ME coefficient was demonstrated by a novel method of tuning the resonance modes in laminate composites. Notably, the compound exhibited a remarkable ferroelectric photovoltaic characteristics both in bulk and thin films. The observed PV response was correlated with the symmetry breaking field induced structural transformation