Structure and electrical properties of BCZT ceramics derived from microwave-assisted sol-gel-hydrothermal synthesized powders

A novel microwave-assisted sol-gel-hydrothermal method was employed to rapidly synthesize Ba0.85Ca0.15Zr0.1Ti0.9O3 (BCZT) powders. The effects of reaction time on the structure, crystallinity, purity and morphology of the products were investigated. The results of XRD, FTIR, SEM and TEM indicated that BCZT powders could be obtained in even 60 min at a low synthesis temperature of 180 degrees C, which were well-crystallized with stoichiometric composition and uniform grain size (similar to 85 nm). BCZT ceramic derived from the rapidly-synthesized powders had a dense microstructure and good electrical properties (epsilon(m)=9579, d(33)=496 pC/N, 2P(r)=25.22 mu C/cm(2), 2E(c)=7.52 kV/cm). The significant electrical properties were closely related to the high activity of the BCZT powders, resulting from the rapid microwave-assisted sol-gel-hydrothermal process.