Electrophoretic deposition of BaTiO3/CoFe2O4 multiferroic composite films

Electrophoretic deposition was utilized for preparation of BaTiO₃/CoFe₂O₄ multiferroic composite thick films on indium-tin oxide substrates. The suspensions for electrophoretic experiments were prepared by dispersing BaTiO₃ and CoFe₂O₄ nanoparticles with different molar ratios into solvents composed of ethanol and acetylacetone. Polyvinyl butyral was added to the suspensions in order to enhance the adhesion and strength of deposit and prevent cracking. The zeta potential values of BaTiO₃/CoFe₂O₄ suspensions were measured to be 26.4-36.9 mV. The experiment results showed that deposited films were obtained only when the applied electric field was larger than a certain critical value. XRD and SEM analysis depicted the presence of constituent phases in composite films. The percolation threshold of composite films was improved through dispersing ferromagnetic phase into ferroelectric phase. Therefore, the ferroelectric properties of composite thick films were maintained when the ferromagnetic properties were enhanced significantly with increasing CFO content.