Thermal analysis of sintering Li–Ti–Zn ferrite from mechanically activated powders

The effect of mechanical activation of the synthesized ferrite powder on the process of thermal sintering of ferrite ceramics has been studied. Mechanical activation of the powder of Li 0.65 Fe 1.6 Ti 0.5 Zn 0.2 Mn 0.05 O 4 composition was performed at a drum rotation speed of 300, 600, and 1100 rpm using steel balls with a diameter of 2 and 5 mm. The mechanically activated powder was sintered in a highly sensitive dilatometer at 1010 °C for 2 h. Dilatometric analysis showed that the total shrinkage of the samples during sintering increases at increased energy intensity of ferrite powder milling. It was found that the sample prepared from the powder mechanically activated with 2 mm balls shows the best degree of complete compaction after sintering as compared with the samples activated using 5 mm balls. Shrinkage curves were used for kinetic analysis based on mathematical modeling to determine the parameters of ferrite sintering. Kinetic analysis showed that diffusion models are best suited for modeling the sintering process.