A comparative study between the addition of nano and micro-particles of Co3O4 on the electrical and microstructural properties of a ceramic system based on SnO2

Abstract

A comparative study between the addition of Co3O4 micro-particles and nano-particles as densifying dopant of a SnO2 based varistor system was conducted. The ceramic composition was (99.9-X) %SnO2–X %Co3O4–0.05 %Cr2O3–0.05 %Nb2O5 where X = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.0 and 4.0 mol%. Two particle sizes of Co3O4 were used (~5 µm and ~50 nm). The addition of 0.5 mol% of Co3O4 nano-particles promoted an increase of grain size of sintered samples up to 7.9 µm, that is, the maximum value among all variations.  Characterization techniques such as TGA, DTA, XRD, and Rietveld analysis revealed a decrease of 16 ºC in the formation temperature of Co2SnO4 as well as an increase of 2.6 wt% in the amount of said phase with the use of 4.0 mol% of Co3O4 nano-particles in comparison with micro-particles. Statistical analysis indicated that the addition of nano-particles of Co3O4 yield better repeatability on densification of ceramic samples. Residual porosity also was decreased. Electrical breakdown and non-linear coefficient values correspond to a non-ohmic behavior with potential application on manufacture of high voltage varistors. The findings of this work can be used as a reference for conducting a later study to improve the electrical properties or even to lower the sintering temperature.