Grain-size effects on thermal properties of BaTiO3 ceramics

Dense nanocrystalline BaTiO3 ceramics are successfully prepared by the high pressure assisted sintering. Microstructures are observed by scanning electronic microscopes. The grain sizes are estimated to be about 30 and 150 nm. In comparison, BaTiO3 ceramics with the grain size of 600 nm and 1.5 μm are fabricated by conventional pressure-less sintering. The thermal properties of BaTiO3 ceramics with different grain sizes are investigated by differential scanning calorimetry and thermal expansion. The results suggest that the enthalpy values for the tetragonal-cubic transition decreased and the thermal expansion values increased with decreasing grain size. Furthermore, the Curie temperature shifts to lower temperature with decreasing grain size.