Grain Growth Kinetics of BaTiO₃ Nanocrystals During Calcining Process

BaTiO3 nanocrystals were synthesized by sol-gel method using barium acetate (Ba(CH3COO)2) and tetrabutyl titanate (Ti(OC4H9)4) as raw materials. Xerogel precursors and products were characterized by means of thermogravimetric/differential scanning calorimetry (TG/DSC), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The influence of the calcination temperature and duration on the lattice constant, the lattice distortion, and the grain size of BaTiO3 nanocrystals was discussed based on the XRD results. The grain growth kinetics of BaTiO3 nanocrystals during the calcination process were simulated with a conventional grain growth model which only takes into account diffusion, and an isothermal model proposed by Qu and Song, which takes into account both diffusion and surface reactions. Using these models, the pre-exponential factor and the activation energy of the rate constant were estimated. The simulation results indicate that the isothermal model is superior to the conventional one in describing the grain growth process, implying that both diffusion and surface reactions play important roles in the grain growth process.