Sintering and Reactive Sintering by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS)

A wide variety of technological applications, especially in electronics, requires high‐density nanostructured solids, consolidated by sintering from nanoparticles. A new sintering technique known as spark plasma sintering (SPS) appears as the only method to reach high densities while preserving the final grain size within the nanometric range, with the added advantage of carrying out the process at significantly lower temperatures and shorter times as compared with the classical processes. Recent studies have revealed that in many cases, SPS can also accomplish the solid‐state reaction to achieve the desired compound, leading to reactive SPS (RSPS). In this chapter, a review of RSPS is presented, focusing particularly on magnetic oxide materials as functional solids