Effect of Silver on the Sintering and Grain-Growth Behavior of Barium Titanate

Silver and its alloys frequently are used as electrode material for BaTiO3-based dielectrics. In the present study, a small amount of fine silver particles have been intimately mixed with BaTiO3 powder. The sintering and grain-growth behavior of the silver-doped BaTiO3 in air are investigated. The solubility of silver in BaTiO3, as revealed by lattice-parameter measurement, electrical measurement, and electron probe microanalysis, is 0.3 wt%, the grain growth of BaTiO3 then is prohibited by the silver inclusions.