Preparation of transparent glaze enhanced by mullite crystals with branched architecture

A simple method has been developed for the preparation of mullite-enhanced transparent glaze. The raw martials were melted into a frit and mullite particles were introduced to obtain the target glaze. The effect of the mullite additions on the optical and mechanical properties of the glazes has been studied. The results suggest that mullite crystals partially dissolve into the melt and reprecipitate during firing at high temperatures, forming a branched architecture, which improves the combination of mullite and glass phase. This structure dramatically enhances the mechanical properties of the transparent glaze. The Vickers microhardness of the glaze with 25% mullite is increased by 8.5% compared with the basic glaze, while the wear weight loss decreased by 16.3%. The trans-parency of the glaze is almost not affected by the mullite addition, due to the close refractive index of mullite to the glaze.

Automated summary

A simple method has been developed to prepare mullite-enhanced transparent glaze by melting raw materials and introducing mullite particles. The effects of mullite additions on the optical and mechanical properties of glazes were studied. The results showed that mullite crystals partially dissolve and reprecipitate during firing, forming a branched structure that improves the combination of mullite and glass phase, leading to enhanced mechanical properties of the glaze. The transparency of the glaze was not significantly affected by the mullite addition due to the similar refractive index of mullite to the glaze.