Study on bi-layered ceramics powders prepared by the mechanochemical synthesis

Bi-layered structured ferroelectric materials-bismuth titanate, Bi4Ti3O12 (BIT) and barium-bismuth titanate, BaBi4Ti4O15 (BBT) powders were prepared by homogenization and sintering of mixture of stehiometric quantities of bismuth titanate and barium titanate obtained via mechanochemical synthesis. The Bi4Ti3O12 ceramic was obtained at 1000 degrees C for 4 h and BaBi4Ti4O15 ceramic at 1100 degrees C for 4 h. The phase formation and properties of Bi4Ti3O12 and BaBi4Ti4O15 were studied using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, EDS and SEM. Microstructure of Bi4Ti3O12 and BaBi4Ti4O15 exhibits plate-like grains typical for the bi-layered structured material. The Ba2+ addition leads to the change in the microstructure development, particularly in the change of the average grain size. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.