The Effects of Spark-Plasma Sintering (SPS) on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of BaTiO3/3Y-TZP Composites

Composite ceramics BaTiO3/3Y-TZP containing 0 mol %, 3 mol %, 5 mol %, 7 mol %, and 10 mol % BaTiO3 have been prepared by conventional sintering and spark-plasma sintering (SPS), respectively. Analysis of the XRD patterns and Raman spectra reveal that the phase composition of t-ZrO2, m-ZrO2, and BaTiO3 has been obtained. Our results indicate that SPS can be effective for the decrease in grain size and porosity compared with conventional sintering, which results in a lower concentration of m-ZrO2 and residual stress. Therefore, the fracture toughness is enhanced by the BaTiO3 phase through the SPS technique, while the behavior was impaired by the piezoelectric second phase through conventional sintering.National Science and Technology Ministry of China [2012BAI07B00]SCI(E)EIARTICLEljing12@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn; cbc14@mails.tsinghua.edu.cn; wanghuining1973@gmail.com; linyh@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn; kqdengxuliang@bjmu.edu.cn; lim@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn; cwnan@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn5