Preparation of BaTiO3 powders using supercritical CO2 drying of gels

Two different drying methods, conventional drying of gels in air at 90°C and supercritical CO2 (SC-CO2) drying, were used to prepare BaTiO3 powders from sol–gel derived gels. The results reveal that powders prepared by supercritical drying with CO2 are less contaminated with the organic disintegration products which are formed during drying. As a result, the sintering of a sample prepared from the CO2-dried powder leads to a homogeneous and fine-grained microstructure.