Sb2O3 doped and microwave assisted sintering of ITO

Indium tin oxide (ITO) ceramics with high densities are difficult to achieve using conventional heating because of the volatilisation of both indium oxide and tin oxide at high temperatures. In our present study, we proposed to use a Sb2O3 doped and microwave hybrid sintering approach to prepare for ITO ceramics. The effects of the Sb2O3 content on the microstructure, densification and electrical properties of ITO ceramics were investigated. The results show that the relative density has reached 98·3% by using the hybrid sintering approach. The resistivity of the obtained ceramics showed a decrease tendency with increasing Sb2O3 content in the range of 0–1·5 wt-%. We speculate that the formation of electrons and vacancies caused by the doping of Sb2O3 and the ‘microwave effect’ might be the main reason responsible for the increase in the densification. As a result, these, in turn, further enhanced the electronic conductivity of the obtained ITO ceramics.