Kinetic study of the crystallization processes of some decorative ceramic glazes

A kinetic study of the crystallization processes was performed for some decorative ceramic glazes in the PbO-SiO2-Na2O-K2O-CaO(BaO)-Al2O3-B2O3 system with addition of 10% TiO2 and ZnO. The crystallization kinetics has been studied in non-isothermal conditions using DTA technique. The apparent activation energies of the crystallization processes were calculated using the Kissinger method. The main crystalline phase, which provides the decorative effect, is rutile. This has been identified by X-ray diffraction and it is clearly visible in the optical microscopy images taken in transmitted light, as needle-like or even prismatic crystals arranged in radial-fibrous aggregates.