Magnetoelectric effect in lead free piezoelectric Bi^sub 1/2^Na^sub 1/2^TiO^sub 3^–modified CFO based magnetostrictive (Co^sub 0.6^Zn^sub 0.4^Fe^sub 1.7^ Mn^sub 0.3^O^sub 4^) particulate nanocomposite prepared by sol-gel method

Lead free magnetoelectric composites that comprise Co0.6Zn0.4Fe1.7Mn0.3O4 (CZFMO) and Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3 (BNT) were synthesized using sol-gel method and it's structural, dielectric, magnetic, ferroelectric and magnetoelectric (ME) properties were studied. The X-ray diffraction displayed the single phase formation of parent phases and the presence of two phases in the composites. The temperature dependent dielectric spectra of samples indicates two anomalies at ~220 °C and ~320 °C were ascribed to ferroelectric to antiferroelectric, and anti-ferroelectric to paraelectric phase transitions respectively. Room temperature (RT) magnetic measurements show that composites are softmagnetic. The composite with x=0.2, showed the large value of ME voltage coefficient (αE)~58 mV/cmOe. Moreover, these ME composites provide a great opportunity as potential lead free systems for multifunctional devices.