Synthesis of lithium titanate by auto combustion method and study of its densification behavior with different binder concentration

Abstract

In the current work, the Li2TiO3 powder was synthesized through the novel auto-combustion method using cheaper precursor of titanium i.e. TiO2. The nitrate solution was prepared by using the sulphate route and citric acid was used as the fuel. Citrate- nitrate combustion reaction was carried out to produce fine Li2TiO3 powder. It was seen that the pellets can be effectively sintered at 900OC obtaining densities of around 90% of the theoretical density. Different amount of PVA binder was added viz. 3%, 5%, 7% to fabricate pellets which were then sintered at different temperatures i.e. 900OC for 6 hours, 1000OC for 4 hours and 1100OC for 2 hours to produce pellets. The densification behavior of these pellets was studied and it was concluded that the 3% PVA pellets had the highest density among the different samples. Thermal expansion and electrical conductivity was measured on the highly dense pellets.