Influence of Sintering Time on the PTCR Effect of Nb2O5-doped BaTiO3 Ceramics

The effects of the sintering time on the electrical properties and the positive temperature coefficient of resistance (PTCR) effect of Ba1.006(Ti1-xNbx)O3 (BTN) ceramics were investigated, which were sintered at 1190 ºC for 0.5-6 hours in a reducing atmosphere and then re-oxidized at 800 ºC for 1 hour. The results indicated that the sintering time affected the electrical properties and the PTCR effect of the multilayer BTN samples, whose room-temperature resistance decreased with an increase of the sintering time at same sintering temperature of 1190 ºC. However, the resistance jump first increased and then reduced as a function of the sintering time. Furthermore, The BTN ceramics exhibited a pronounced PTCR effect, with a resistance jump greater by 3.6 orders of magnitude, along with a low RT resistance of 0.14 Ω at a reoxidated temperature of 800 ºC after sintering at 1190 ºC for 2 h in a reducing atmosphere. In addition, the activation energy of samples obtained at different sintering times had also been investigated.