Journal of Material Sciences & Engineering

Physical Characterization and Microstructure Evaluation of Titanium Dioxide Semiconductor Discs Processed with Binders

Abstract

Shahida Begum, MNM Ansari, LM Keong and T Velloo

The processing of TiO₂ semiconducting materials has a long route with numerous contributing variables. The binder plays an important role in the development of this electro-ceramic material. Higher density and strength of a green body are critical not only for handling at its green state but also to avoid the causes of flaw formation during sintering. Use of appropriate binder can lead to improve characteristics of powder which will reduce density gradient in the green body during compaction. Enhanced green properties can consequently lead to higher fired strength of the varistor discs. The binder system is anticipated to have an influence on the grain growth and microstructure which in turn affect the electrical performance. To investigate this phenomenon, TiO₂ powder doped with 0.2% of Ta₂O₅ was processed with and without binder polyvinyl alcohol. The prepared samples were characterized by evaluating the physical properties like green density, fired density, axial and radial shrinkage, micro hardness and compressive strength. It was observed that TiO₂ processed with binder exhibited better properties compared to powder processed without binder. The higher percent of binder enhanced the properties further. XRD revealed that the diffraction angle peak was similar to that of pure TiO₂. SEM analysis indicated that the average grain size was larger for discs prepared with higher percent of binder. It is anticipated that the larger grain size will improve varistor properties in terms of low voltage applications.