The study of bsrium titanate addition on microstraucture and electrical properties of zinc oxide based varistor ceramic

Abstract

In this research, the study of BaTi03 addition on the microstructure and electrical properties of ZnO based varistor ceramic have been studied. The ZnO is added with 3, 6, and 9 wt. % of BaTi03 by the solid-state method using planetary ball milling and sintered at 900, 1100, and l300 C for 45 minutes. The sample of un-doped ZnO is prepared for comparison. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) spectra for the commercial ZnO and BaTiQ3 confirmed that the samples do not have any impurity. From the XRD pattern analysis, samples exhibited a primary and secondary phases of the compound and high crystallinity. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) equipped with Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX) images show an improvement of the grains size and uniformity of the microstructure of ZnO as the increasing of the wt. % of the BaTi03 and sintering temperatures. Then, the functional group is observed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR). The Current-Voltage (I-V) characteristic measurement, the value of non-linearity coefficient is in the range of 1.0-15.0. In conclusions, the evolution of surface morphology due to BaTiQ3 addition is observed in the ZnO based ceramic varistor and is correlated to their electrical characteristics.