Sintering of PZT Ceramics: II, Effect of PbO Content on Densification Kinetics

The presence of a PbO-rich liquid phase was previously shown to affect the densification of lead zirconate-lead titanate (PZT) ceramics. The present work attempts to quantify the role of this liquid phase. Increasing amounts of PbO-rich liquid phase is shown to increase the rates of densification in the initial and intermediate stages, but lower the final density. This behavior is discussed. In the case of PbO-deficient samples, the amount of the deficiency is shown to affect the densification rate at the final stage.