Nanosized bismuth titanate (Bi4Ti3O12) system drive through auto-combustion process by using suspension titania (TiO2)

Bismuth titanate (Bi4Ti3O12) was developed by means of titanium oxide (TiO2) suspension in auto-combustion process at 220 °C to get nanosized (20 ± 5 nm) bismuth titanate (Bi4Ti3O12) powder. Complete piezoelectric phase (tetragonal) was obtained after calcination at 700 °C. Dilatometery of compacts was performed to find out sintering temperature. On the basis of shrinkage results, compacts were sintered at 750, 800, and 850 °C for 2 h. After sintering single phase was obtained with orthorhombic structure analyzed by X-ray diffraction and also investigated by Rietveld method. High-resolution scanning electron microscopy revealed that fine plate-like structure which is a characteristic of BIT powder can be obtained at 850 °C. Sintering results indicate that density and average grain size increase with the increasing temperature. A maximum of about 90 % of the theoretical density was achieved for the sintered product at 850 °C.