The thermal and microstructural behavior of a R2O–RO–(ZnO)–Al2O3–(TiO2)–SiO2 based macro-crystalline raw glaze system

Macro-crystalline glazes containing significantly large crystals visible to the naked eye are a type of artistic glaze with a decorative and esthetic performance. The use of raw glaze compositions is a cost effective alternative for these types of crystal glazes. In the present study, R2O–RO–(ZnO)–Al2O3–(TiO2)–SiO2-based raw glaze system was studied to produce macro-crystalline glazes for Limoges porcelain bodies. The influence of the addition of TiO2 as a nucleating agent or major phase was evaluated in zinc-based glazes as well as ZnO-free ones. Designed glaze compositions were fired according to a special heat treatment cycle and characterized in terms of thermal and microstructural behavior using a digital microscope, differential thermal analyses, hot stage microscopy, X-ray diffraction, a scanning electron microscope, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy.