Fabrication of niobium doped Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 fibers by viscous polymer processing

A technique based on viscous polymer processing (VPP) was described, which can produce high ceramic content green fibers. PZT-5 ceramic powders were ball milled to get high dispersibility. The slurry prepared for VPP was a composition of PZT-5 powder, PVA binder and glycerin. High ceramic content PZT-5 fibers were extruded with the slurry. The results show that the ceramic powders have fine mean particle size of 0.54 mu m, high specific surface area of 3.55 m(2)/g and zeta potential of 8.81 mV after 16 h milling. The fibers sintered at 1 280 degrees C for 4 h have pure perovskite structure and grains of 2-5 mu m in size, with little pores or cracks. The ultimate tensile strength of sintered fibers is up to 13.84 MPa compared with 2.88 MPa of green fibers. The remnant polarization (P-r) and coercive field (E-c) of the fibers are 50.65 mu C/cm(2) and 2.45 kV/mm, respectively This fiber can withstand an electric field of 9 kV/mm higher than the ceramic (5 kV/mm), which shows high directional and compact qualities.