Densification of nanocrystalline ITO powders in fast firing: effect of specimen mass and sintering atmosphere

Nano-sized indium tin oxide (ITO) powders were prepared by a coprecipitation method, and the sintering characteristics in fast firing were examined. The mass of the specimen, sintering atmosphere and sintering temperature varied. Oxygen atmosphere promoted the densification in normal rate sintering, while oxygen inhibited the densification in fast firing. Fast firing severely retarded densification as the mass of the specimen and the sintering temperature increased. This was explained by differential densification, which could easily occur in conditions with a high densification rate and a high thermal gradient in the specimen, where the outer region of the specimen densifies much faster than the center. Once the highly densified outer skeleton is formed, the inside of the specimen is difficult to densify because the outer skeleton geometrically constrains densification.