Cold sintering-assisted low temperature fabrication of dense Ba\(_{5}\)Nb\(_{4}\)O\(_{15}\) ceramics
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55713/jmmm.v36i2.2564Keywords:
Ba5Nb4O15 ceramic, Cold sintering process, Transient liquid phase, Low-temperature densificationAbstract
Abstract
This study presents a novel approach for fabricating Ba5Nb4O15 (BNO) ceramics at low sintering temperatures via the cold sintering process (CSP), using Ba(OH)2∙8H2O (BOH) as a transient liquid phase. CSP was performed under an external pressure of 10 MPa with a sintering temperature range of 150℃ to 300℃. Optimally, BNO-BOH ceramics achieved a relative density of 93.7 ± 0.43% when sintered at 250℃ for 1 h. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) suggested that particle densification occurred via a dissolution-precipitation process, which filled pores and formed necks between particles. The study demonstrates that the residual liquid content is crucial for ceramic densification. Annealing the as-cold sintered BNO-BOH ceramics at 1000℃ for 1 h successfully eliminates the BaCO3 secondary phase. Furthermore, dielectric properties of annealed ceramics were also characterized at room temperature from frequency range of 20 Hz to 2 MHz. The dielectric permittivity is reported to be 39.2 and 0.01 for tan δ at 1.8 MHz. The cold sintering process provides an effective strategy to reduce the sintering temperature while achieving high relative density. This method offers a promising alternative for the fabrication of advanced ceramics.
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