A study on the synthesis of (Ba,Ca)(Ti,Zr)O3 nano powders using Pechini polymeric precursor method

Pechini polymeric precursor method was successfully used to synthesize (Ba0.95Ca0.05)(Ti0.85Zr0.15)O3 nano powders. The results of TG/DTA, XRD and IR analyses showed that by heating the precursor between 490 °C and 580 °C, an intermediate phase with possible composition of (Ba,Ca)2(Ti,Zr)2O5CO3 was formed. Between 580 °C and 700 °C, the intermediate phase transformed to a crystalline solid solution by de-carbonation reaction. The transformation completed at 700 °C. Nano-sized powders with equivalent sphere diameters about 72 nm were obtained by calcination of the precursor at 700 °C for 4 h. The ceramics sintered at 1300 °C for 2 h can reach about 95% theoretical density and the peak dielectric constant is 15,000 at 70 °C.