Gelcasting of PZT

Aqueous gelcasting of PZT is discussed in this paper. Concentrated PZT suspension (50 vol.%) with low viscosity is developed by using triammonium citrate as the dispersant. Zeta potential results suggest that the effect of TAC in decreasing the viscosity of the PZT suspension may be ascribed to its electrostatic stabilization mechanism. A premix solution containing 20 wt.% of AM monomer can provide a mechanical strength of 18 MPa for the green body obtained from 50 vol.% PZT suspension. SEM photos indicate that PZT ceramics with homogeneous microstructure can be fabricated. Comparison of piezoelectric coefficients of gelcast PZT samples with those of the die pressed PZT samples indicates that the additives, including the monomer, the crosslinker and the dispersant etc., show no influence on the piezoelectric property of the PZT samples. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd and Techna S.r.l. All rights reserved.