Decoration of In sub(2)O sub(3) nanowires with BaTiO sub(3) nanoparticles for enhancement of magnetic properties

We have fabricated the composite nanowires consisting of In sub(2)O sub(3) core and BaTiO sub(3) shell, via a two-step method. The BaTiO sub(3) shell has been deposited on core In sub(2)O sub(3) core nanowires by means of pulsed laser deposition technique. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy were employed to analyze the structure and morphology of the products. While SEM confirmed that the products maintained the one dimensional morphology, the shell layer corresponded to the nanoparticles of the hexagonal BaTiO sub(3) phase. With bare In sub(2)O sub(3) nanowires exhibiting weak ferromagnetism, the ferromagnetic behavior was enhanced by decorating the In sub(2)O sub(3) nanowires with BaTiO sub(3) nanoparticles. The shell coating enhanced the ferromagnetic behavior at both 5 and 300 K, in terms of the increase of coercive field, remanent magnetization, and saturation magnetization values in the hysteresis curves. We suggested that the generation of BaTiO sub(3) nanoparticles and oxygen vacancies during the high-temperature shell coating process played a role in enhancing the ferromagnetic properties of the nanowires.