A novel approach to sintering nanocrystalline barium titanate ceramics

A novel approach to pressureless sintering based on the combination of rapid-rate sintering, rate-controlled sintering, and two-step sintering under a controlled atmosphere is proposed. This combined sintering method facilitates control of grain and pore morphology. The application of this sintering approach for pure nanocrystalline barium titanate powder enables the suppression of grain growth during the intermediate and final stages of sintering and the production of fully dense ceramics with 108 nm grain size. The grain growth factor is 3.5, which is three and 17 times smaller than rate-controlled and conventional sintering, respectively.