Influence of Ba/Ti ratio on PTCR effect of Bam(Ti1−xNbx)O3 ceramics prepared by the reduction sintering-reoxidation method

Abstract

In this work, we investigate the influences of Ba/Ti ratio and sintering conditions on the characteristics of positive temperature coefficient of resistance (PTCR) and electrical properties of Ba[Formula: see text](Ti[Formula: see text]Nb[Formula: see text])O3 (BTN) ceramics. The ceramics were fired at 1190[Formula: see text]C for 0.5–6.0 h in a reducing atmosphere and then reoxidized at 600–650[Formula: see text]C for 0–8 h. The Ba/Ti ratio [Formula: see text] affected the electrical properties and PTCR effect of the BTN specimens. The room-temperature (RT) resistance of the BTN samples initially decreased [Formula: see text] and then increased [Formula: see text] as the Ba/Ti ratio increased. Moreover, BTN ceramics exhibit a pronounced PTCR effect, with a resistance jump greater by 3.0 orders of magnitude and a low 0.1 [Formula: see text] RT resistance at a low reoxidation temperature of 600[Formula: see text]C after sintering under a reducing atmosphere. Furthermore, the average sample grain size increased along with the Ba/Ti ratio. In addition, the influence of the sintering time and the reoxidation time on the electrical properties and the PTCR effect were also investigated.