Two step sintering of the ZnTiO3 nanopowder

Metastabile nanopowder ZnTiO3 pressed into cylindrical compacts at 200 MPa was submitted to conventional heating with isothermal holding at 931oC for 10 minutes, 25 minutes and 40 minutes. Same compacts were heated with two-step sintering schedule with maximal 912oC and isothermal holding at 896oC, for approximately the same holding times as with isothermal. Shrinkage during heating was monitored with dilatometric device, while microstructure was determined with atomic force microscopy. XRD patterns were collected for the most prominent samples. Sintered specimens microstructure showed differences introduced during last sintering stage by two heating schedules