The powders with the nominal compositions of Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3+x wt.% Li2CO3
(x=0 and x=1.0) were synthesized by a citrate precursor method. The
sintering behavior, structure and dielectric properties of the ceramic
specimens were investigated. Compared with the lithium-free specimen (x=0),
the lithium-added specimen (x=1.0) showed appreciably enhanced sintering
properties, achieving a relative density of 96.0% after sintering at 900?C.
The enhanced sintering properties were related to a liquid-phase sintering
mechanism. The origin of the liquid-phase was explained. The effects of the
liquid-phase on the densification progress of the lithium-added specimen in
different sintering stages were elucidated. The lithium addition was found
to be beneficial to the nonlinear dielectric properties. The ceramic
specimen with x=1.0 exhibited a figure-of-merit of 106 under a bias electric
field of 20 kV/cm, higher by ~60% than the value (67) for the specimen with
x=0.