Discontinuous dissolution of a frozen matrix liquid phase in Ba(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 ceramics Original Research Article

Grain-boundary migration during the dissolution of a liquid phase in Ba(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3 (BZN) ceramics has been investigated. When the BZN specimens sintered at 1550°C are further heat-treated at lower temperatures, the liquid phase formed during sintering is dissolved discontinuously and grain boundaries migrate. With the increase of heat-treatment temperature, grain-boundary migration becomes much less pronounced. These results are consistent with the coherency strain energy model proposed for the driving force for diffusion-induced grain boundary migration (DIGM).