Preparation of the moon-white glaze by carbothermic reduction of Fe2O3 and SiC

The moon-white glaze was successfully reproduced with the addition of 0.02 wt% silicon carbide (SiC) for supplying carbon (C) and reducing iron oxide (Fe2O3) at 1250 °C. Effects of the SiC contents on the chromaticity, precipitated phase and microstructure of moon-white glaze were investigated. Based on the analysis of colorimeter, XRD, XPS, FT-IR, SEM and TG-DSC, a possible coloring mechanism was proposed to explain the variation of glaze colors with the increasing of SiC content. The results indicated that the addition of SiC contributed to increasing the content of C and the size of phase separation droplets in glazes. The formation of C increased the ratio of Fe2+ to Fe3+ and the increased size of phase separation droplets weakened the structural color, which increased the L* and b* value of glazes. Therefore, the color of moon-white glaze got more blue and white gradually.