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 μm, high specific surface area of 3.55 m2/g and zeta potential of 8.81 mV after 16 h milling. The fibers sintered at 1 280 °C for 4 h have pure perovskite structure and grains of 2–5 μm, 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 (Pr) and coercive field (Ec) of the fibers are 50.65 μmC/cm2 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.