Studies on surface characteristics and chemical resistance of zirconia nano coating developed on glazed ceramic wall tiles

In this study, sol-gel based ZrO₂ nano coating was made on the surface of glazed ceramic tile by spin coating. Further, various surface characteristics were studied after curing at 550°C, 650°C and 700°C, 750°C and 800°C. FTIR, DTA/TG of the gel powder and XRD of calcined gel powder were carried out. The surface of the coating has been characterised using optical microscope and SEM. Properties of coated glazed surfaces such as gloss, colour difference, wetting characteristics and stain resistance were evaluated. Chemical resistance studies (both acid and alkali) of ceramic tiles were also carried out. Experimental results showed that gloss and contact angle of water on the surface of the coated samples significantly increased compared to uncoated substrate. Coated substrates cured at all temperatures exhibited good acid resistance. It has also observed that curing temperature has a strong influence on alkali resistance and coated substrate cured at 650°C and 700°C showed superior alkali resistance than uncoated substrate. In this paper, an effort has been made to explore and validate the potential application of ZrO₂ nano coating on the glazed ceramic wall tiles w.r.t improved gloss, hydrophobic properties and chemical resistance.