Dense ceramics of BaTiO3 produced from powders prepared by a chemical process

Abstract A sintering optimization of barium titanate ceramics from fine-grained and homogeneous reproducible powders obtained by the citric process is presented. Different sintering parameters are studied: heating rates, final temperature, dwelling times at this final temperature, and influence of the powder deagglomeration step. The sintering is followed by dilatometric measurements. The ceramics obtained by sintering at 1230 or 1300 °C are free of barium carbonate, the residual carbon content being estimated at about 400 ppm in the surface layer. They exhibit a grain size close to 1 μm, a structure in which the cubic and tetragonal phases coexist, and a density of about 96% of the theoretical density. Their permittivity and loss factor are respectively about 5000 and 2.5 × 10 −2 at 25 °C.