In situ microwave-assisted combustion reaction synthesis of BaTiO3/CoFe2O4

Abstract

The continuous and growing demand for electric and electronic devices with increasingly enhanced performance and versatility has heightened interest in the study and development of new materials. The production of BaTiO3/CoFe2O4 nanocomposites opens perspectives for applications of these materials with differentiated properties, and enables new studies aimed at conserving the purity and crystallinity of nanoparticles. Nanocomposites are currently obtained by mixing BaTiO3 and CoFe2O4 in ball mills, which often compromise the purity and morphology of the particles. The combustion reaction method has proved to be very promising for the preparation of monophasic materials. However, mixing two or more crystalline phases impairs the purity of the material. In the laboratory coordinated by the head of this research project, composites of magnetoelectric materials are currently being prepared in a groundbreaking manner by means of a single reaction, called in situ combustion reaction, in which two or more components are synthesized in a single reaction, thus doing away with the mixing process. The results achieved are recent and highly satisfactory. Therefore, the objective of this research is to obtain powders of BaTiO3/CoFe2O4 multiferroic composite by microwave-assisted in situ combustion reaction. This study will involve the use of iron, cobalt, barium and titanium nitrates, in addition to fuel - high purity citric acid, which is suitable for the production of advanced ceramic products. Samples of the BaTiO3/CoFe2O4 system in proportions of 80/20, 70/30, and 50/50 will be obtained by in situ combustion reaction, both in a microwave oven and on a hot plate, and the effect of the addition of ferrite varying from 20 to 50% to the composite will be evaluated. The results will be analyzed according to the homogeneity of the material obtained and the conditions of microwave synthesis required to obtain the two desired phases, with a view to future applications of the materials' magnetoelectric properties. To this end, the grant holder will handle the synthesis and various basic ceramic powder characterization techniques such as the analysis of particle size distribution, BET, X-ray diffraction, and optical and scanning electron and transmission microscopy. (AU)