Templated Grain Growth of Textured Bismuth Titanate

Abstract

Textured bismuth titanate, Bi4Ti3O12 (BiT), was produced by templated grain growth (TGG). Molten‐salt‐synthesized BiT platelets were dispersed in a matrix of 200 nm BiT powder and aligned by tape casting. Highly textured BiT was obtained with the use of only 5 vol% template particles by sintering at 1000°C for 1 h. The uniformity of the through‐thickness texture is much higher than reported in the literature for BiT tapes cast with 100% platelets. Initial platelet alignment is shown to increase because of frequent interaction with the fine powder particles during tape casting. By avoiding pressure densification techniques and using only a small portion of anisometric particles, TGG is a low‐cost option for fabricating textured ceramics.