Affect of binder on mechanical and physical characterization of titanium dioxide based varistor

Development of high performance titanium dioxide (TiO2) based varistor materials demands binders to improve its physical properties which will ultimately enhance its electrical performances. The material used for ceramic based varistor should exhibit good mechanical properties. As for desired mechanical properties, porosity should be minimal, high fired density, high sintered strength and small average grain size are desired. In this paper effect of PVA (binder) on TiO2 was investigated and its influence on physical, mechanical and microstructure was observed. The binder was added during ball milling and then followed by the shaping and sintering process. The samples were characterized by evaluating fired density, hardness, compressive strength and microstructure. Our studies revealed that varistor disc with higher density, hardness and strength can be produced with the use of binder.