Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 February 2011
Rate controlled sintering (RCS) was used to sinter nano-sized BaTiO3 particles. A distinct shift in temperature slope above 1150-1200°C during RCS implied a change in sintering mechanism, and a corresponding exaggerated grain growth (grain size ~40-50 μm). By suppression of the exaggerated grain growth by firing a specimen packed in BaCO3, these phenomena were shown to be the result of a shift in phase equilibria from the volatilization of BaO from BaTiO3; the eutectic liquid which formed permitted rapid grain growth by a dissolution and precipitation process.