Synthesis of Sphene (CaSnSiO5)-Pink Pigments with CrCl₃

In high temperature ceramic glazes, a stable range of pink-red colors that produced Cr₂O₃-SnO₂-CaO-SiO₂ pigments were factored by Cassiterite(SnO₂) and Malayaite(CaSnSiO5) by Cr₂O₃. The experiment examined the influence of CrCl₃, a Sn-Cr substitution added with a mineralizer (H₃BO₃), as a chromophore in pigments. The experiment also studied the effect of H₃BO₃ (2 wt%) when added to malayaite(CaSnSiO5) to see if the crystalline reaction will increase. Cr₂O₃ was also substituted with CrCl₃ in order to prove how much influence CrCl₃ had on the H3BO3. Malayaite and cassiterite were the basic compound materials and the experiment was conducted both with and without mineralizers (2 wt% of H₃BO₃).Each compound was synthesized at 800, 1000, 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500℃ for 2 h. Synthesized pigments were analyzed by XRD, FT-IR and UV-Vis. The temperature variation produced two crystal phases that showed the different engaging effects of Cr oxidation. CrCl₃ produced a better effect on the malayaite crystal phase, resulting in a more defined pigmentation of the pink-red coloration compared to Cr₂O₃.