‘Ultra’-low-temperature sintering of PZT: A synergy of nano-powder synthesis and addition of a sintering aid

It has been found that under certain conditions, PZT [Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3] can be sintered at a temperature as low as 715 °C, whereas the conventional sintering temperature is around 1200 °C. The conditions for such ‘ultra’-low-temperature sintering are the synthesis of PZT nano-powder through autocombustion route and addition of a small amount of LiBiO2 as a sintering aid. Interestingly, the dielectric and piezoelectric properties of such ‘ultra’-low-temperature sintered samples are on a par with and in some cases better than those of PZT samples prepared via conventional sintering at a high temperature.