Characteristics reproducibility of (Fe, Co)(Cr, Al)2O4 pigments obtained by solution combustion synthesis

Synthesis reproducibility of mixed spinels Fe1-psi Co psi Cr2-2 psi Al2 psi O4 (0 <= psi <= 1), obtained by Solution Combustion Synthesis using urea as fuel, has been studied. Pigments with spine] structure Fd-3m have been obtained for all the compositional range analysed. Characteristics such as crystallinity, cell parameter, crystal size and specific surface area show a noticeable dependence with psi, but some of them present a low reproducibility, indicating a pronounced dependency with process conditions in each batch. Colouring power of synthesized pigments is highly significant, so they can be directly integrated in ceramic glasses without introducing a second thermal treatment. However, the generated colour also suffers from a limited reproducibility. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and Techna Group S.r.l. All rights reserved.