Effect of ferrite phase addition on Pb-Free multiferroic composite material for energy storage applications

Bulk composite ceramics exhibit promising potential as energy storage materials due to their strong ferroelectric characteristics. To lessen the use harmful Pb based material, multiferroic composite combining ferrite and perovskite ceramics with piezoelectric and ferroelectric traits, have gained prominence for high-efficiency energy systems such as ceramic capacitor. This study focuses on a dual-phase multiferroic ceramic composite, following the formula (1-x) Ba0.77Ca0.23TiO3 + xNi0.6Zn0.25La0.15Fe2O4 (x = 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3), prepared via a solidstate reaction process. XRD analysis confirms the presence of cubic perovskite (BaTiO3) and cubic spinel ferrite (NZLFO) phases. SEM images depict uniform microstructures with sporadic pore formations, which decreased in grain size with ferrite addition. The P-E loops reveal relaxor ferroelectric behavior with near-zero remnant polarization (Pr), indicating its suitability as an energy storage medium. The highest energy density efficiency, approximately 54 %, was achieved at x = 0.1. The addition of more than 10 % ferrite significantly affects both the microstructure and energy storage properties.