Highly transparent yttrium titanate (Y2Ti2O7) ceramics from co-precipitated powders

Highly transparent yttrium titanate (Y 2 Ti 2 O 7 ) ceramics were fabricated by vacuum sintering using co-precipitated powders for the first time. The effects of the powder calcination temperature on the phase composition, morphology of the calcined powders, and on the microstructure and transmittance of the Y 2 Ti 2 O 7 ceramics were investigated. When the calcination temperature was above 850 °C, pure phase Y 2 Ti 2 O 7 nanopowders with high sintering activity were obtained. Transparent Y 2 Ti 2 O 7 ceramics were obtained after vacuum sintered at 1600 °C for 6 h and annealed at 1100 °C for 5 h in air. The highest transmittance reached 73% at 1000 nm when the calcination temperature was 1150 °C. The measured refractive index of Y 2 Ti 2 O 7 ceramics was higher than 2.24 at the wavelength range of 350–1000 nm, making it a promising candidate for optical devices.