How do deflocculants work in ceramics
Deflocculants are electrolyte-sourcing liquid or powders. They are added in small amounts to solutions. Deflocculation is essentially imparting electrical charges to clay particles making them repel each other. This makes your clay solution more liquidy.
What materials are deflocculants?
Organic, humic acids and derivatives, alkaline lignosulfonates, tannin compounds, polyacrylates and acrylic derivatives, polycarbonates, sodium citrate, gum arabic, and low viscosity Na-CMC. Inorganic defflocculants are sodium carbonates, potassium carbonates, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium silicates, phosphates and polyphosphates, sodium oxalates and ammonium oxalates.
How do flocculants work in ceramics
When glazes are flocculed, clay particles become attracted to each other and stick together instead of flowing freely past each other. Clay particles are flat and thin, imagine tiny playing cards. Imagine the playing cards flat “faces” and thin “edges”. The edges and faces of clay particles have a charge. ppositive and negative similar to magnets. Positives attract negatives, but two positives and two negatives will repel one another. Each face of a clay particle is negatively charged. Edges can be both negatively and positively charged. Epsom Salts (magnesium Sulphate) added to a flocculated solution, you are now introducing positive magnesium ions to a solution. Positive ions attach to the “edges of the clay particles and now the edges are all positive. The particle faces have a negative charge and the edges have a positive charge, clay particles all the particles will start to attract one another, sticking toether, edge to face, and face to edge. Flocculation increases the viscosity of a solution making it thicker. It keeps other particles in the solution suspended, increases the time taken for the substance to dry once applied, promotes smoother application.
Before Flocculating make sure you measure your specific gravity. Learn more about specific gravity in this post.
What materials are flocculants?
Common flocculants are epsom salts, calcium chloride, and vinegar.