Low temperature sintering of PZT ceramics without additives via an ordinary ceramic route

Low temperature sintering of PZT ceramics without additives was investigated using a fine powder obtained by the ordinary ball milling process. The starting commercial PZT ceramic powder with the composition of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O-3 of average grain size of 0.5 mu m is effectively ground in a ball mill using zirconia balls of 3 mm in diameter in isopropyl alcohol containing an organic surfactant. Its particle size reaches less than 0.2 mu m after 48 h grinding. It is dried, added with a PVB binder, pressed, and sintered in air for 2 h from 950 degrees C to 1200 degrees C. The bulk density and dielectric constant of the PZT ceramics sintered at 1000 degrees C reach 7.85 g/cm(3) and 1566, respectively, sufficiently high for industrial applications. PZT ceramics sintered at 1000 degrees C and those sintered at 1100 degrees C exhibited electromechanical coupling factors (kp) of 60% and 69%, respectively. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.