Preparation and characterization of high-purity PZT powders and ceramics made by modified spray-drying techniques

The spray drying technique has been of particular interest for decades because of the potential in mass production of high-quality PZT powders. Although fine and very homogeneous PZT particles have been successfully made using the spray-drying technique, the cost of the starting materials is high while the purity of the produced powder is relatively low [11]. In this work we concentrated on using low-purity-grade (< 99%) and comparatively low priced chemicals to produce a high quality PZT powder. The low-priced starting chemicals were Pb(NO3)2 (99 wt%), ZrO(NO3)2.6H2O (similar to 27 wt%Zr), and C12H28O4Ti (similar to 99 wt%) in a molar ratio of 1: 0.52: 0.48. The subsequent treatment followed Tunkasiri's process [7]. The final solution was dried in a spray drier at 130 oC to obtain fine granules. The granules were then calcined at various temperatures (500-850 oC) for 1 h, respectively.