Sol-Gel Bonded Piezoelectric Lead Zirconate Titanate Ceramics

The sol-gel bonded lead zirconate titanate, PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT), ceramics were prepared by calcining and sintering at high temperatures the mixture between a conventional mixedoxide powder and a sol from a triol sol-gel method. The effects of sintering condition on phase formation, microstructures and dielectric properties were investigated and compared with the conventional and sol-gel PZT ceramics. X-ray diffraction analysis indicated that, in the ceramics containing sol-gel powder, the crystal structure changed from tetragonal to rhombohedral phase as the sintering temperature increased from 1150°C to 1200°C. This change in crystal structure also affected the microstructure of the ceramics. The dielectric constants at Tc of the sol-gel ceramics were found to be greatest and this suggested a possible use of sol-gel powder to produce PZT ceramics for high temperature applications.