Effect of atmospheres on the sintering behavior and microstructural evolution of (Ba0.87Ca0.13)1.000(Ti0.85Zr0.14Mn0.01)1.003O3

The powder with a composition of (Ba0.87Ca0.13)1.000(Ti0.85Zr0.14Mn0.01)1.003O3 sintered in different atmospheres was investigated. It was found that the densification occurred at lower temperature and discontinuous grain growth was inhibited but pores significantly grew when sintered in a reducing atmosphere. It is suggested that the inhibition of the discontinuous grain growth be attributed to the segregation of Mn2+ ions to the grain boundary and the absence of the Ti-rich liquid phase. It was also found that grain growth became significant at temperatures >1300 °C when sintered in the reducing atmosphere, which might be due to the increase of the oxygen vacancy concentration. Residual carbon played a significant role in pore growth.