Investigation of structure and electrical properties of Li0.5La0.5TiO3 ceramics via microwave sintering

Electrolyte ceramic of lithium lanthanum titanate [Li0.5La0.5TiO3 (LLTO)] was prepared by microwave sintering method. The lattice structure, microstructure and transport properties were studied and compared with those of the LLTO ceramics prepared via conventional sintering method. Though the sintering methods both led to pure perovskite LLTO phase, they produced different crystallites. The LLTO prepared via microwave technique presented cubic perovskite-type crystallite, while the LLTO via conventional method offered tetragonal crystallite. In addition, the microwave sintering resulted in the formation of better-grained LLTO ceramics but lower conductivity than the conventional one did. This was explained by considering the different microstructures and conduction mechanisms of lithium ions in the two cases.