Production and Properties of Nanostructured Metal-Oxide Lead Zirconate–Titanate Piezoceramics

Compact ceramic samples of lead zirconate–titanate are sintered from nanocrystalline (d av = = 25 nm) Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 powder synthesized by thermal decomposition of an oxalate precursor. Conditions of nanopowder compaction have been found and kinetics of sintering and growth of nanocrystallites and coarser grains formed during consolidation have been studied. The lead zirconate–titanate ceramic samples consolidated from nanopowders are sintered at lower (by 300–350°C) temperatures and have higher (by 25–45%) dielectric and piezoelectric properties as compared to samples fabricated by conventional solid-state technology. Two-level grain structure is formed during sintering: nanocrystallites divided by low-angle boundaries and descending from initial nanocrystalline particles and consolidated coarser micrograins divided by high-angle boundaries. Sintering of the lead zirconate–titanate ceramics from nanocrystalline powders permits controlling the nanoscale size of crystallites and thus the nanostructured features of consolidated material.