Preparation and characterization of green glazes using ferrochromium slag waste

Abstract

Green glazes were successfully prepared using ferrochromium slag waste as chromium and iron precursors by introducing Co2O3 as coloring agent. The performance of the glazes was investigated by XRD, EDS, FT-IR, and UV-vis. A chromatic mechanism was proposed to explain the variation of glaze colors with the increase of Co2O3 content. The results showed that the Co-doped glazes had Co-Fe-Cr mixed spinel-type structures when Co-doped contents were 0.5–1.5 wt%. Green glazes could be prepared by adjusting the blue component (Co2+) proportion, which was achieved with different amounts of Co2O3, to balance the color proportion of blue and yellow in glazes according to subtractive color process. The intensity of green color in glaze samples was related to the presence of d-d transitions of tetrahedral Fe3+, 4A2(F) → 4T(P) of tetrahedral Co2+, and 4A2g → 4T2g of octahedral Cr3+ in spinel structures. These results indicated that environment-friendly, Co-doped, spinel-type structured, coloring agents, prepared using ferrochromium slag waste, can be applied to produce green glazes or inkjet printer ink as well as to provide a means for preparing green glaze using ferrochromium slag waste.