Abstract
Multiferroic CoCr2O4 is synthesized by low-temperature sol-gel auto combustion technique. High energy synchrotron x-ray diffraction pattern confirms the single-phase cubic structure with space group Fd3m. Average crystallite size (17.91 nm) and negative micro-strain (9.86 × 10−4) are estimated by Williamson–Hall (W-H) plot. FTIR confirms the formation of spinel metal oxide-based cobalt chromites. The strong decrease in ε′ and tan δ at higher frequency can be interpreted by Maxwell-Wagner-type interfacial polarization. Weak ferroelectricity is mainly attributed to the partial reversal of polarization. J-E characteristic reveals the Ohmic (I–V) and Child’s square law (I–V2) behavior observed in CoCr2O4 nanomaterials with slope value ~ 1.04 and ~ 1.6, respectively. The conduction process for the leakage current density is interpreted using the space-charge limited current (SCLC) mechanism.
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Acknowledgements
Authors acknowledge fruitful discussion with Dr. V. Ganesan and Dr. D. M. Phase of UGC-DAE-CSR, Indore. Thanks to Prof. Dr. Pratibha Sharma, School of Chemical Science, Indore, for providing the FTIR (Fourier transform infrared radiation) facility. Technical support from Mr. Vinay K Ahire, UGC-DAE-CSR, Indore, is also gratefully acknowledged.
Funding
Facilities and financial assistance was received from UGC-DAE CSR, as an institute (Grant No.: CSRIC/BL-22/CRS-119-2014/269).
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Choudhary, P., Saxena, P., Yadav, A. et al. Weak Ferroelectricity and Leakage Current Behavior of Multiferroic CoCr2O4 Nanomaterials. J Supercond Nov Magn 32, 2639–2645 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10948-019-5001-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10948-019-5001-z