Dielectric, Impedance, Magnetic and Magnetocapacitance Investigations in ferrite–manganite nanocomposites for Hydroelectric Cell applications

In this work, nanoparticles of CoFe 2 O 4 and La 0.67 Sr 0.33 MnO 3 and nanocomposites (1 − x )CoFe 2 O 4 − ( x )La 0.67 Sr 0.33 MnO 3 (for x = 0.10, 0.20, 0.30) have been made through sol–gel route and solid-state route, respectively. The structural analysis via X-ray diffraction (XRD) displays formation of spinel CoFe 2 O 4 (CFO) having crystallite size 35 nm and rhombohedral La 0.67 Sr 0.33 MnO 3 (LSMO) having crystallite size 15 nm. Field emission scanning electron microscope and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (FESEM-EDAX) shows the particle size of 51.35 nm and 24.77 nm for CFO and LSMO, respectively. The particle size and crystallite size decreased in CFO-LSMO nanocomposites with increase in LSMO content. The dielectric measurements display strong Maxwell–Wagner polarization and display strong composition dependence attributed to homogenous distribution of LSMO as well as non-pinning of domain wall of CFO. The impedance spectroscopy displayed thermally activated conduction mechanism. The magnetocapacitance measurements displayed improvement in magnetoelectricity with LSMO content. The hydroelectric cell of CFO-LSMO nanocomposites exhibited a strong correlation between the content of LSMO and the efficiency of the cell. The 0.7LSMO-0.3CFO composite exhibited improved performance in hydroelectric cell as can be observed from drastic difference in impedance from 8×10 4 to 3×10 3 Hz. These improvements in the structural, electrical, magnetocapacitance and hydroelectric cell performance with LSMO in the prepared composites suggest their potential use in magnetoelectric and hydroelectric devices.