BiFeO3/poly(methyl methacrylate) nanocomposite films: A study on magnetic and dielectric properties

Abstract

Utilisation of multiferroic BiFeO3 nanoparticles requires that these be embedded in a suitable matrix. We prepared BiFeO3/poly (methyl methacrylate) nanocomposite films with varying volume fraction of nanoparticles and investigated their magnetic and dielectric properties. The results obtained show that BiFeO3 nanoparticles exhibit superparamagnetic behaviour in nanocomposite films. The magnetization was observed to saturate beyond ∼13 kOe for 2.5% and 5% BFO composite films. The AC conductivity of composite films (∼10−12 Ohm−1cm−1) is also significantly reduced (by four order of magnitude) compared to that of the bulk BFO. The superparamagnetic behavior, reduced conductivity, and flexibility make these composite films attractive candidates for potential applications.