Sonochemically activated solid-state synthesis of BaTiO3 powders

Abstract We report the sonochemically activated solid-state synthesis of BaTiO3 powders. Unlike conventional ball-mill mixing, coarse BaCO3 and fine TiO2 powders were sonochemically mixed in ethanol, requiring only 5 min for full mixing and activation. Significantly accelerated phase conversion to BaTiO3 via a solid-state reaction was achieved by the sonochemical mixing, and the process exhibited almost Arrhenius-type activation behavior depending on the ultrasonic power. The sonochemical activation was attributed to the preferential fragmentation of BaCO3 by the ultrasonic irradiation, which led to the particle size reduction and homogeneous mixing in the sonochemical mixtures. Based on the structural, dielectric, and ferroelectric characterizations, we suggest that the sonochemical mixing can replace the time-consuming ball-mill mixing for the solid-state synthesis of BaTiO3 powders and can also be applied to develop a time-saving, contamination-free, and cost-effective process for various ceramic industries.