Room temperature magnetoelectric multiferroic behavior of 50 mol% Fe substituted PbTiO3 (PbTi0.5Fe0.5O3−δ) nanoparticles

PbTi0.5Fe0.5O3−δ nanoparticles with an average particle size of ∼32 nm are prepared by co-precipitation. X-ray diffraction study confirms the phase purity and a tetragonal crystal structure (c/a = 1.015) of nanoparticles. The morphology and size of the nanoparticles is studied using high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The ferroelectric, magnetic and magnetoelectric measurements at room temperature corroborate the co-existence of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism with significant magnetoelectric coupling in the nanoparticles. This study will provide valuable insight for the incorporation of these nanoparticles into various devices with the aim of exploiting their magnetoelectric coupling and multifunctional behavior. Despite its technological importance, the study is also significant from a fundamental physics point of view.