Zn-doped calcium copper titanate synthesized via rapid laser sintering of sol-gel derived precursors

Zn-doped calcium copper titanate (CCTO) was successfully synthesized by rapid laser sintering of sol-gel derived precursors without the conventional long-time heat treatment. The structural, morphological, and crystalline properties were characterized, and the performances of dielectrics and impedance were measured and discussed. The X-ray diffractometer results show that Zn-doped CCTO is polycrystalline in a cubic structure, according to the doping ratio of Ca(Cu₂Zn)Ti₄O₁₂ . Electron microscopy showed that Zn-doped CCTO has a denser microstructure with better uniformness with shrunken interplanar spacing of 2.598 nm for the plane (220). Comparing with undoped CCTO, the permittivity almost remains unchanged in the range of 10²–10⁶ Hz, demonstrating good stability on frequency. The electrical mechanism was investigated and is discussed through the impedance spectroscopy analysis. The resistance of grain and grain boundary decreases with rising temperature. Activation energies for the grain boundaries for Zn-doped CCTO were calculated from the slope for the relationship of lnσ versus 1/T and were found to be 0.605 eV, smaller than undoped CCTO. This synthesis route may be an efficient and convenient approach to limit excessive waste of resources.