Thermal Conductivity of ZnO: From Green to Sintered State

T. Olorunyolemi, A. Birnboim, Y. Carmel, O. Wilson, Jr., I. Lloyd
University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742

S. Smith and R. Campbell
Holometrix, 25 Wiggins Avenue, Bedford, MA 01730

Journal of the American Ceramic Society 85, 1249 (2002)

ABSTRACT. The thermal conductivity of ZnO with different particle sizes (micron, submicron and nano) was measured using the laser flash technique. As the "green" samples were heated from room temperature to 600oC (and 1000oC) and then cooled down to room temperature, the thermal conductivity was measured in situ. A model for inter-particle neck growth was developed based on mass transfer to the neck region of a powder as a result of known temperature gradient. By combining this model with a three-dimensional numerical code, the thermal conductivity of ZnO was calculated. Excellent agreement between the theoretical calculation and experimental data was found.