Reaction sintering of partially reacted system for PZT ceramics via a high-energy ball milling

A partially reacted mixture comprising lead zirconate titanate (PZT) phase and the starting oxides was successfully synthesized via a high-energy ball milling process by controlling the milling time within the second milling stage. The partially reacted system exhibited a sintering reaction when sintered at elevated temperature. Fully dense PZT ceramics with 99.2% of the theoretic density were achieved from the partially reacted mixture sintered at 1100 °C. The good dielectric and ferroelectric properties of the sintered PZT ceramic indicate that high-energy milling process is a promising and flexible technique for the preparation of PZT ceramics.