Sintering behaviour of cobalt ferrite ceramic

Pure cobalt ferrite ceramic powder was prepared using standard solid-state ceramic processing. Uniaxially pressed pure cobalt ferrite discs, sintered under isothermal ramp rate and single dwell time conditions, yielded a maximum theoretical density (%Dth) of <90%. Discs made from finer particle size powder yielded a %Dth of 91.5%. Based on dilatometry analysis, a sintering profile comprising non-isothermal sintering, and two-step sintering was devised, yielding discs with %Dth of 96%. Cylindrical rods of pure cobalt ferrite were cold iso-statically pressed and sintered according to the revised sintering profile. Pycnometry analysis was used to quantify the percentages of open and closed pores in the rods after sintering.