Abstract
The mechanochemical (MC) synthesis of La-modified lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) powder from its constituent oxides was conducted with planetary ball milling. A single-phase perovskite PLZT powder was synthesized by dry-milling the oxide mixture for a relatively short period (36 ks at 400 rpm). Dense PLZT bulk samples with fine-grained microstructures were obtained even from powders milled for a short time (3.6 ks) and at a lower sintering temperature than for the powders prepared by the conventional wet-mixing process. The present study suggests that the mechanochemical synthesis of PLZT comprises the following three stages: First, the pulverization, fine mixing, and granulation of the starting powders occur in the early stage. Second, the particles of the powders increasingly lost their crystallinity due to milling ball impact. Finally, the reaction between PbO and TiO2 produced PbTiO3, whose reaction with the remaining oxides formed (Pb, La)(Zr, Ti)O3 solid solutions.
† This report was originally printed in J. of the Japan Soc. of Powder and Powder Metallurgy, 48(10), 943-949 (2001) in Japanese, before being translated into English by KONA Editorial Committee with the permission of the editorial committee of the Japan Society of Powder and Powder Metallurgy.
