Phase Formation, Morphology and Magnetic Properties of PbTiO3–Fe2O3 Heterostructure Ceramics.

Multiferroic (1-x)PbTiO₃−(x)Fe₂O₃ composite materials, when x = 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7 and 0.9, were prepared by solid-state reaction technique. PbTiO₃ powder was synthesized with a calcination temperature of 900 °C in air. Phase formation, densification, morphology and magnetic properties of (1-x)PbTiO₃−(x)Fe₂O₃ composites were investigated and discussed. The XRD technique was used to analyze the phase formation behavior of all specimens which shown the Fe₂O₃ accumulate phase with increasing Fe₂O₃ content. Densities of the sintered ceramics trend to decrease, possibly caused by an anomaly morphology of the specimens that related to particle packing. Also besides, the superparamagnetic behaviors were observed using a Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM), which reached the maximum value at x = 0.7. In conclusion, Fe₂O₃ addition has been found to affect the phase formation, microstructure and magnetic properties of PbTiO₃ ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]