Multiferroic Nature of Microwave‐Processed and Sol‐Gel Synthesized NanoPb1‐xCoxTiO3 (x = 0.2–0.8) Ceramics

The lead cobalt titanate (PCT) nanoparticles are prepared through sol‐gel technique by changing the Co content from 0.2 to 0.8. Later, the prepared materials are microwave‐heated at 1023 K for ¾ h. The X‐ray diffraction analysis reveals the change of structure of PCT nanoparticles from tetragonal (T) to rhombohedral (R) phases at higher cobalt contents. In addition, the Williamson–Hall (W–H) plots are drawn to determine microstrain (ε′) and crystallite size (D′) values. The surface morphology is carried out using field emission scanning and transmission electron microscopes. Moreover, the room temperature multiferroic nature is described using polarization versus electric field (P–E) and magnetization versus applied magnetic field (M–H) curves. The magnetic hysteresis loop results indicate a transition from ferromagnetic to paramagnetic state.