Development of sapphirine opaque glazes for ceramic tiles

The purpose of this work is to produce more excellent opaque wall tile glazes by using sapphirine instead of zirconium silicate as an opacifier. In order to achieve it, the chemical compositions were precisely adjusted in the system of SiO2-Al2O3-MgO-K2O-Na2O-B2O3. The morphological characteristics of the glaze were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). And the optical properties of the glaze were characterized by a spectrophotometer and a gloss meter. The results reveal that well-shaped crystals of sapphirine (Mg2Al4SiO10) with needle-like morphology were formed as only crystal phase. The glaze is provided with better opacity whiteness and gloss compared with commercial zircon-based glass-ceramic glazes, and it is mainly composed of cheap mineral raw materials. Those features make it as an alternative one for improving the properties of conventional opaque ceramic glazes.