Combustion synthesis of ZnFe Cr O4 nanocrystallites for ceramic digital decoration

Abstract Spinel-type Zn(Fe, Cr)2O4 powders are promising pigments in the ceramic decoration field. In this work, nanocrystalline ZnFe2-xCrxO4 (x = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6, 1.8, 2.0) were successfully synthesized using combustion method with sucrose as fuel. TG-DTA, XRD, HRTEM, EDS, XRF, FT-IR, and optical techniques were employed to characterize the samples. The as-prepared ZnFe2-xCrxO4 nanocrystallites correspond to a pure spinel phase, and the lattice parameter and crystallite size decrease as the content of Cr increases. The reddish-brown tone of the sample first increases and then diminishes as x increases. When x = 0.8, the sample owns the strongest reddish-brown tone with L* = 41.5, a* = 22.3, and b* = 20.2. The research shows that the ZnFe2-xCrxO4 nanocrystallites have significant advantages in increasing the inks' coloring ability as well as in reducing the energy consumption of inks fabricating processes.