Abstract
As a pore precursor, carbon black with different content of 0 to 60 vol% were added to (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ powder. Porous (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ ceramics were prepared by pressureless sintering at $1350^{\circ}C$ for 1h under air. Effects of carbon black content on the microstructure and PTCR characteristics of porous (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ ceramics were investigated. The porosity of porous (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ ceramics increased from 6.97% to 18.22% and the grain size slightly decreased from $7.51\;{\mu}m$ to $5.96\;{\mu}m$ with increasing carbon black contents. PTCR jump of the (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ ceramics prepared by adding carbon black was more than $10^5$, and slightly increased with increasing carbon black. The PTCR jump in the (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ ceramics prepared by adding 40 vol% carbon black showed an excellent value of $9.68{\times}10^5$, which was above two times higher than that in (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ ceramics. These results correspond with Heywang model for the explanation of PTCR effect in (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ ceramics. It was considered that carbon black is an effective additive for preparing porous $BaTiO_3$ based ceramics. It is believed that newly prepared (Ba,Sr)$TiO_3$ cermics can be used for PTC thermistor.