A comparative study of ZnS powders sintering by Hot Uniaxial Pressing (HUP) and Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS)

The sintering of two different polycrystalline zinc sulphide powders has been investigated by two different techniques. Conventional sintering technique (Hot Uniaxial Pressing, HUP) and the Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) also known as electric field-assisted sintering technique (FAST) have been compared in terms of sintering parameters (temperature, pressure) and optical properties of the prepared ZnS ceramics. This study demonstrates the potentiality to sinter ZnS by SPS in very short times, at lower sintering temperatures, compared with HUP, with good densification (close to the theoretical density) and good optical transmission in the infrared range 8–12 μm.