Abstract
Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 (PZT) and Fe2CoO4 (FCO) powders were synthesized separately by the Pechini method and then ultrasonically mixed in molar proportions of 80/20 and 50/50 of PZT/FCO. The resulting composites were pressed and subjected to conventional and ultrafast microwave-assisted sintering. The structure and microstructure of the sintered samples were analyzed, respectively, by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The dielectric constant as a function of temperature, electrical resistivity and magnetoelectric coupling coefficient were measured. The results indicated that the ultrasonic mixing method applied to PZT and FCO was fast and efficient, and that sintering resulted in globally connected (0-3) particulate composites and uniform distribution of the ferromagnetic phase (FCO) grains in the ferroelectric matrix (PZT). The structural analysis indicated that microwave sintering changed the arrangement (1-3) of the material’s local connectivity, which was attributed to the intensification of diffusion processes that occur in this type of sintering, particularly in nanometric systems. The high values of resistivity indicated that although both sintering methods preserved the integrity of the two phases, microwave sintering was more efficient, ensuring the magnetoelectric behavior of all the composites under study. The values of Hmax field were dependent on the ferrite phase concentration and sintering; 80/20 1.4 and 1.9 kOe, and 50/50 3.5 and 3.0 kOe in the samples sintered by microwave and conventionally, consistent with the literature, which confirmed the integrity of the constituent phases PZT and FCO.
Keywords:
PZT/FCO; composite; ultrasonic mixing; microwave
