Sintering behavior and physical properties of ZnO‐modified BaZrO3 ceramics

Abstract

AbstractBarium zirconate (BaZrO3) ceramics possesses poor sintering properties, in order to improve its densification behavior and reduce the sintering temperature, zinc oxide (ZnO) was selected as a sintering aid in this study. The effects of ZnO content on the sintering kinetic parameters and physical properties of BaZrO3 ceramic samples heated at 1300–1600°C were investigated. As the addition of ZnO increased from 0 to 5 wt.%, the calculated sintering activation energy decreased from 117.3 to 19.22 kJ/mol. The change of activation energy leads to the decrease of the optimum adding amount of ZnO with the increase of heat treatment temperature, showing 1300°C (5 wt.%), 1400°C (3 wt.%), 1500°C (2 wt.%), 1600°C (1 wt.%). The 1500°C sintered sample with 2 wt.% ZnO achieved a relative density of 96.00% and a maximum cold modulus of rupture (CMOR) of 94.5 MPa.