Investigation of the usability of designed zinc oxide based particles in the ceramic sanitaryware glazes

Ceramic sanitaryware sector, which is one of the important export components of our country, shows the added value of domestic production to the economy with its export volume of $210,1 million according to 2018 data. We interact with ceramic sanitary ware products, such as sinks, squatting pans, toilets which we use in the kitchen, bathroom and toilet, and in common areas such as schools, workplaces and shopping centers. These products, which are usually in white color, are subjected to glazing in order to have aesthetically bright and smooth surfaces, to be easy to clean the products and to fulfill the necessary hygiene conditions. Different additives are added to glaze recipes in order to provide these properties expected from the glazes of ceramic sanitaryware products. However, incompatibility of these agent materials with the glaze recipe can cause errors such as pinhole, cracking, peeling, crawling, dulling and staining. Zinc oxide reduces the melting temperature in the glaze recipe and has a positive effect on the surface properties of the glaze. In this thesis, designed zinc oxide based particles in different proportions by weight were added to the standard ceramic sanitaryware glaze recipe and its usability in ceramic sanitaryware glazes was investigated. Thermal expansion coefficients, sintering and melting temperatures of glaze recipes in which designed zinc oxide based particles were added were analyzed and glaze-body compatibility was evaluated. In addition, the roughness and color measurements of the final product have been completed and the effect of the designed zinc oxide based particles on the surface properties of the products has been examined. In this study, it is concluded that designed zinc oxide based particles can be used in ceramic sanitary ware glazes.