Increasing the sinterability of tape cast oxalate-derived doped ceria powder by ball milling

Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 powder for tape casting has been synthesized by oxalate coprecipitation. The rod-like particles, 1.0 μm sized, were broken to 0.62 μm or 0.37 μm equiaxial particles by 24 or 48 h wet ball milling. The initial sintering rate of tapes is linear with the reciprocal of particle size. The milled 0.37 μm powder densifies to 98% of the theoretical density after sintering at 1400 °C, while the original rod-like powder only densifies to 76%. The different sinterability is due to different particle size and pore texture. Forty-eight hours wet ball milling is needed to increase the sinterability of oxalate-derived doped ceria powder for tape casting.