Effects of heating rate in thermal debinding on the microstructure and property of sintered NiCuZn ferrite prepared by powder injection molding

Abstract NiCuZn ferrite ceramics were prepared by injection molding, debinding and sintering at 1150°C. The effects of heating rate in thermal debinding on microstructure, bending strength and magnetic properties of sintered samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, the Dual Column Tabletop Testing Machine, RF impedance Analyzer and B-H curve analyzer. The results showed the heating rate in thermal debinding played an important role on the sintered NiCuZn ferrite prepared by injection molding. When the heating rate in thermal debinding was quick above 1.2 °C/min in the lager cuboid samples, CuO precipitate was found at the grain boundary of ferrite and the intergranular fracture occurred, which was different from the normal transgranular fracture under the condition of slow heating rate. Furthermore, the density, bending strength, permeability and core loss of the sintered samples were improved with the decrease of heating rate. The influencing mechanism of thermal debinding on the difference was also discussed.