Slip casting of highly concentrated ZnO suspensions: Rheological studies, two-step sintering and resistivity measurements

Piotr Wieciński , Anna Więcław-Midor

Abstract

The paper presents research on elaboration of well dispersed and stable aqueous suspensions of ZnO fine powder. Within the work the influence of the type and concentration (0.2 wt% - 1.2 wt%) of selected dispersing agents (i.a. poly(acrylic acid)-based polyelectrolyte and tetramethylammonium hydroxide), solid loading (30 - 50 vol%) and milling time (1–3 h) on the rheological properties of the slurries was investigated. Two-step sintering (970/920 °C, 2 h) was applied to sinter the green bodies obtained by slip casting. The lowest viscosity of ZnO suspensions was obtained for the addition of 0.4 wt% of poly(acrylic acid)-based polyelectrolyte (PAA) and TMAH. ZnO suspension containing PAA had negative zeta potential in the whole pH range. The highest solid loading obtained in the study was 50 vol%. The applied two-step sintering allowed to obtain samples of high density (above 96% of TD) and homogeneous microstructure of average grain size of 640 nm. ZnO sintered bodies were characterized by different electric properties at the core part and outer part of the sample which was caused by the differences in concentration of oxygen vacancies.