Abstract
Two processing techniques were used to prepare separate samples of undoped and La-doped CaCu3Ti4O12: the conventional furnace and microwave processing. Stoichiometric composition of undoped CaCu3Ti4O12 was produced by mixing starting materials of Ca(OH)(2), CuO and TiO2 powder. The mixed powder was milled and then calcined, compacted and sintered using either a furnace (conventional) or a domestic microwave oven (microwave processing). The La2O3 was added to undoped CaCu3Ti4O12 in order to prepare the La-doped CaCu3Ti4O12 with different doping concentrations. The conventional furnace heating technique requires a calcination temperature of 900 C for 12 hours before the mixture is sintered at 1000 degrees C for 12 hours. However, a single phase CaCu3Ti4O12 compound was successfully synthesized using a microwave oven for a calcination time of 30 minutes. Longer microwave sintering time tends to produce denser CaCu3Ti4O12 pellets.