Electrophoretic deposition of BaTiO3 films from aqueous suspensions

It was found that BaTiO3 powder could be well dispersed in water using 0.3 wt.% poly(acrylic acid-co-maleic acid) as a dispersant at pH 10. The suspension characteristics were studied in terms of zeta potential and viscosity. Stable suspensions with 5 wt.% BaTiO3 were chosen for the electrophoretic deposition. Voltages between 2 and 6 V were applied to fabricate uniform and defect free BaTiO3 films with a thickness up to 20 μm. The results show that electrophoretic deposition from aqueous suspension is a feasible, low-cost and environmentally benign method to form BaTiO3 thin and thick films.