Ceramic oxide powder, method for producing the ceramic oxide powder, ceramic paste produced using the ceramic oxide powder, and method for producing the ceramic paste

A method for producing ceramic paste comprising the steps of:

• dissolving or uniformly dispersing a raw material of constituent ceramic elements in a solvent or dispersion medium, thereby preparing a solution or dispersed mixture containing said constituent ceramic elements;
• adding citric acid in said solution or dispersed mixture, in which said constituent ceramic elements are dissolved or dispersed, at least in an amount required to generate an oxidation-reductive combustion reaction with anions of said constituent ceramic elements, thereby preparing a mixed solution;
• and
• thermally treating said mixed solution at a temperature of 100 to 500° C., thereby evaporating said solvent or dispersed medium while causing said citric acid to act as a reductive combustion aid after said evaporation of said solvent or dispersion medium, thereby generating said non-explosive oxidative-reductive combustion reaction with said anions of said constituent ceramic elements, so that said citric acid is removed as said combustion reaction proceeds, and ceramic oxide powder is produced without any scattering by virtue of heat generated during said combustion reaction, thereby producing ceramic oxide powder having a grain size of 5 μm or less and exhi biting a uniform grain size distribution;
• forming a ceramic sol solution of constituent ceramic elements identical or similar to those of said ceramic oxide powder in an organic solvent or water;
• and
• mixing said ceramic oxide powder with said ceramic sol solution, thereby producing a ceramic paste;
• whereby said ceramic sol solution serves as a reaction medium at a surface of said oxide powder to improve a reaction property exhibited at said oxide powder surface, so that sintering of said ceramic paste is possible using a thermal treatment at a low temperature.