Conventional and Spark Plasma Sintered Ba_0.8Pb_0.2TiO₃ Nano Ceramics: Structural, Dielectric, and Ferroelectric Properties

Ba_0.8Pb_0.2TiO₃ nanocrystalline ferroelectric ceramics were prepared by high-energy ball mill followed by spark plasma sintering and conventional sintering techniques. Sintering behavior, microstructure, dielectric properties, and ferroelectric properties were investigated by XRD, SEM, dielectric spectrometer, and ferroelectric P-E loop tracer. It was found that the densification process was greatly enhanced during SPS. The sintering temperature was 673 K (400 °C) lower and the microstructure was much finer than that of conventionally sintered ceramics, and dense compacts with a higher density of over 99 pct were obtained. The average grain size in the conventionally sintered samples is up to about 200 nm, while that in the spark plasma sintered prepared sample is only about 100 nm. The room temperature and transition temperature dielectric constant of spark plasma-sintered samples is higher than that of the conventionally sintered sample. There is a noticeable difference in processing time between conventional sintering and spark plasma sintering, and the latter offers potential advantage in time saving also.