Effect of ZrO₂ additions on sintering of LiF fluxed BaTiO₃ ceramics

Abstract

The sintering of barium titanate (BaTiO3) ceramics with 1 and 2 wt% LiF was studied. LiF-fluxed BaTiO3 compacts were sintered to near theoretical density at temperatures below 1100°C in 2 hr. The rapid densification was directly dependent on the LiF content. The crystal structure of LiF flux phase varies during sintering from tetragonal to pseudocubic and then to a second tetragonal symmetry. Microstructure analysis showed a uniform grain size (~ 1 um) with 0.75 wt% ZrO2 added to the flux phase as a grain growth inhibitor. X-ray diffraction studies showed that small grained samples indicated the suppression of the tetragonal symmetry toward a more cubic modification.