Effects of frequency on the AC flash sintering behavior and microstructure of Ga-LLZO

In this paper, the effects of frequency on the flash sintering behavior and microstructure of Li6.4Ga0.2La3Zr2O12(0.2Ga-LLZO) were investigated. The results showed that an increase in frequency had little effect on the onset temperature, but this increase reduced the duration of the weak current stage the incubation stage. Moreover, this phenomenon led to a decrease in the power loss during the constant current stage. Scanning Electron Microscope images showed that the microstructure was symmetrically distributed, and the uniformity increased with increasing frequency. Finite element simulations and an IR thermocamera were used to analyze the temperatures of the specimens. The symmetric distribution of temperature during the flash sintering process was the root cause. The results of AC impedance spectroscopy showed that when the frequency of flash sintering was >= 400 Hz, the ionic conductivity of Ga-LLZO was greater than that of conventional sintering. The results of this work demonstrated the important role of frequency in controlling the microstructures of ceramic materials in flash sintering.