Preparation and characterization of novel glass–ceramic tile with microwave absorption properties from iron ore tailings

• Iron ore tailings (IOTs) have been used as one of the main raw materials.
• Glass–ceramic tile contains spinel ferrite has been prepared.
• The cation distribution of the spinel ferrite has been calculated.
• The intrinsic complex permeability and permittivity have been evaluated.

A novel glass–ceramic tile consisting of one glass–ceramic layer (GC) attaining microwave absorption properties atop ceramic substrate was prepared through quench-heat treatment route derived from iron ore tailings (IOTs) and commercial raw materials (purity range 73–99%). X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Physical property measurement system (PPMS) and Vector network analyzer (VNA) measurements were carried out to investigate phase, microstructure, magnetic and microwave absorption aspects of the glass–ceramic layer. Roughly 80.6±1.7 wt% borosilicate glass and 19.4±1.7 wt% spinel ferrite with chemical formula of (Zn2+0.17Fe3+0.83)[Fe3+1.17Fe2+0.06Ni2+0.77]O4 were found among the tested samples. Absorption of Electromagnetic wave by 3 mm thick glass–ceramic layer at frequency of 2–18 GHz reached peak reflection loss (RL) of −17.61 dB (98.27% microwave absorption) at 10.31 GHz. Altering the thickness of the glass–ceramic layer can meet the requirements of different level of microwave absorption.