Synthesis by Hydrothermal Treatment of ZnO-Based Varistors Doped with Rare Earth Oxides and Their Characterization by Impedance Spectroscopy
J. Porcayo-Calderon,
J.J. Ramos-Hernandez,
C.D. Arrieta-Gonzalez,
J.G. Chacon-Nava,
J.G. Gonzalez-Rodriguez,
E. Porcayo-Palafox,
M. Sanchez-Carrillo,
J.P. Flores-De los Rios,
L. Martinez-Gomez
Affiliations
J. Porcayo-Calderon
Centro de Investigación en Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Avenida Universidad 1001, 62209 Cuernavaca, Mexico
J.J. Ramos-Hernandez
Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Avenida Universidad s/n, 62210 Cuernavaca, Mexico
C.D. Arrieta-Gonzalez
Tecnológico Nacional de Mexico-Instituto Tecnológico de Zacatepec, Calzada Instituto Tecnológico 27, 62780 Zacatepec, Mexico
J.G. Chacon-Nava
Centro de Investigación en Materiales Avanzados (CIMAV), Miguel de Cervantes 120, Complejo Industrial Chihuahua, 31136 Chihuahua, Mexico
J.G. Gonzalez-Rodriguez
Centro de Investigación en Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Avenida Universidad 1001, 62209 Cuernavaca, Mexico
E. Porcayo-Palafox
Centro de Investigación en Ingeniería y Ciencias Aplicadas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos, Avenida Universidad 1001, 62209 Cuernavaca, Mexico
M. Sanchez-Carrillo
Tecnológico Nacional de Mexico-Instituto Tecnológico de Chihuahua, Av. Tecnologico 2909, 31130 Chihuahua, Mexico
J.P. Flores-De los Rios
Tecnológico Nacional de Mexico-Instituto Tecnológico de Chihuahua, Av. Tecnologico 2909, 31130 Chihuahua, Mexico
L. Martinez-Gomez
Instituto de Ciencias Físicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Avenida Universidad s/n, 62210 Cuernavaca, Mexico
ZnO-based ceramic varistors have shown excellent electrical and dielectric properties due to their characteristics microstructures represented by the arrangement of their grains and grain boundaries that allow the absorption and flow of energy when subjected to an electrical surge. Their properties and characteristics depend on their chemical compositions and processing routes. Typical processing routes involve several stages of grinding and precalcination—which are time consuming processes. Because of this, this study proposes a simpler and cheaper alternative route for processing ceramic varistors. The alternative process proposed is the mixing of the precursor oxides by means of a hydrothermal treatment. The characteristics and properties of the synthesized ceramic varistors were evaluated by means of scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and impedance spectroscopy, considering the effect of the addition of rare earth oxides (La2O3, CeO2 and Nd2O3). The results showed that the mixing of the oxides through hydrothermal treatment produces ceramic varistors with characteristics and properties similar to those obtained by other processing routes. Furthermore, it was observed that the addition of rare earth oxides affects the characteristics and properties of the ceramic varistor depending on the type of rare earth oxide added, its concentration and ionic radius.
