Dielectric properties of nanocrystalline CaCu3Ti4O12 (CCTO) ceramics fabricated from Algerian limestone raw material

Abstract

Algerian natural limestone was used to fabricate the perovskite CaCu3Ti4O12 phase (CCTO) to replace commercial calcium carbonate (CaCO3) powder by a solid-state method. X-ray diffraction analysis of CCTO ceramics sintered at 1010 °C manifested the formation of well-crystallized pure (CCTO) phase with narrow crystallite size (43–99 nm) without any additional phases after sintering beyond 4 h. Thermal analysis by DSC indicated that CCTO phase is stable up to 1151 °C, afterwards it decomposes into CaTiO3 and TiO2 and accompanied by the segregation of the CuO/Cu2O phase. Scanning electron microscopy observations of the ceramics sintered at 1010 °C showed that most of the grains have an average particle size in the narrow range of 1–2 μm. The sintered pellet at 1010 C° for 14 h showed the optimum density (>94%). This study highlights the importance of using natural calcium carbonates (extracted from Guelma limestone in Algeria) as potential replacement to commercial counterpart for the fabrication of dense well-crystallized perovskite-type ceramics with controlled particle size distribution as promising candidates for electronic applications