Dual functions of novel glass–ceramic floor tile design and preparation

A novel glass–ceramic floor tile with both decorative and microwave absorption properties was successfully obtained through the sintering process from frits with coarse grain sizes (2.0 mm average particle size) using commercial raw materials (purity range of 73–99%). The tile consists of two glass–ceramic layers, i.e., decorative top layer and functional middle layer, atop flat ceramic substrate (as a sandwich). The sandwich was subjected to sintering at 1200 °C for 15 min to achieve the desired esthetic appearance and magnetic properties. The sintered samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), physical property measurement system (PPMS) and vector network analyzer (VNA) Esthetic appearance was attributed to the formation of crystalline phases among decorative layer where hematite, magnetite, zircon and monoclinic zirconia are being indexed. Electromagnetic wave absorption in 2–18 GHz frequency range was calculated based on the experimental data due to the formation of magnetite in the middle layer. Our analysis showed that peak reflection loss of −11.23 dB (92% microwave absorption) is appeared at 10.72 GHz. Bandwidth of 2.16 GHz is attainted for reflection loss value less than −10 dB (i.e. more than 90% microwave absorption).