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Al2O3 | B2O3 | BaO | C | CaO | CO2 | CoO | Cr2O3 | Cu2O | CuO | | FeO | H2O | K2O | Li2O | LOI | MgO | MnO | MnO2 | Na2O | NiO | O | Organics | P2O5 | PbO | SiO2 | SnO2 | SO3 | SO4 | SrO | TiO2 | V2O5 | ZnO | ZrO | ZrO2

Ag2O | AlF3 | As2O3 | As4O6 | Au2O3 | BaF2 | BeO | Bi2O3 | CaF2 | CdO | CeO2 | Cl | CO | CrO3 | Cs2O | CuCO3 | Dy2O3 | Er2O3 | Eu2O3 | F | Fr2O | Free SiO2 | Ga2O3 | GdO3 | GeO2 | HfO2 | HgO | Ho2O3 | In2O3 | IrO2 | KF | KNaO | La2O3 | Lu2O3 | Mn2O3 | MoO3 | N2O5 | NaF | Nb2O5 | Nd2O3 | Ni2O3 | OsO2 | Pa2O5 | PbF2 | PdO | PmO3 | PO4 | Pr2O3 | PrO2 | PtO2 | RaO | Rb2O | Re2O7 | RhO3 | RuO2 | Sb2O3 | Sb2O5 | Sc2O3 | Se | SeO2 | Sm2O3 | Ta2O5 | Tb2O3 | Tc2O7 | ThO2 | Tl2O | Tm2O3 | Trace | U3O8 | UO2 | WO3 | Y2O3 | Yb2O3

Fe2O3 (Iron Oxide, Ferric Oxide)

Data

Co-efficient of Linear Expansion 0.125
Frit Softening Point 1350C (From The Oxide Handbook)

Notes

Ferrosic Oxide
(Sources: Iron Oxide, Stained Clays, many others)

-Iron compounds are the most common coloring agent in ceramics. On one hand, they are nuisance impurities where they stain an otherwise white clay or glaze or where they muddy an otherwise bright color. At the same time, iron exhibits so many personalities with different kiln atmospheres, temperatures, and firing cycles and with different glaze chemistries that it is among the most exciting of all materials.

-Chemically, iron is amphoteric like alumina. Fe2O3 generally behaves as a refractory antiflux material in a glaze melt, combining with alkalis. Oxidation iron-red glazes, for example, can have very low alumina contents yet do not run off ware because the iron acts like alumina to stabilize and stiffen the melt. However these glazes likely will have somewhat reduced durability.

-In glazes low in flux it can behave as an alkali, combining with silica.

-Fe2O3 is very affected by a reducing atmosphere where it can act as a flux in both bodies and glazes at high temperatures. Its fluxing action in reduction is quite remarkable and can be demonstrated using a line blend in a clear glaze. Higher amounts of iron exhibit dramatically increased fluidity (see FeO for more info).

-Fe2O3 is the most natural state of iron oxide where it is combined with the maximum amount of oxygen. In oxidation firing it remains in this form to typically produce amber to yellow up to 4% in glazes (especially with lead and calcia), tans around 6% and browns in greater amounts. In the 20% range, matteness is typical. However, once it reduces to FeO and immediately begins fluxing and forming a glass, it is difficult to reoxidize. Since the breakdown of carbon or sulfur compounds in body and glaze so easily reduces iron, a slow and very thoroughly oxidizing atmosphere is critical through the 700-900C range to assure that all the iron remains in its antiflux oxidized form.

-Most glazes will dissolve more iron in the melt than they can incorporate in the cooled glass. Thus extra iron precipitates out during cooling to form crystals. This behavior is true both in oxidation and reduction. For example, a typical mid-temperature fluid oxidation glaze of 8-10% iron will freeze black with fine yellow crystals. Lower temperature glaze with their high flux content can dissolve more iron (i.e. aventurine).

-Zinc can produce unpleasant colors with iron.

-Titanium and rutile modify iron and can give some striking variegated effects. For example, a popular middle temperature pottery glaze employs 4% tin, iron, and rutile in a clear base to give a highly variegated gloss brown. Another popular cone 6 glaze uses 85% Albany slip, 11% lithium, and 4% tin to produce an attractive gloss brown with striations and flow lines similar to classic lead glaze effects.

-While many iron-stained clays are reddish in color, high iron clays can also be blackish, grey, brown and deep brown, pinkish, greenish and yellowish or maroon. Some can be quite light in color yet fire to a brown or red color. 6-7% iron is considered a high-iron clay, but some stained clay-like materials can have 20% or more iron. A typical ivory colored oxidation firing body has 1-2% iron oxide.

-Low temperature earthenwares can exhibit a wide range of iron red colors, depending on the firing temperature. Typically, low fired materials burn to a light orange. As temperature is increased this darkens to light red, then dark red, and finally to brown. The transition from red to brown is often very sudden, occurring across a narrow temperature range. Thus the working temperature should be sufficiently above or below this range to avoid radical color changes associated with kiln variations.

-Fe3O4 is an intermediate form of iron which is brown in color and exhibits intermediate properties. Fe3O4 can either be a mix of FeO and Fe2O3 resulting from an incomplete conversion from one type to the other, or it can be a completely different mineral form of iron known as magnetic iron oxide from the ore magnetite. The latter is a hard crystalline material of use in producing specking in bodies and glazes.

-Generally additions of iron oxide to a glaze will reduce crazing (if supplied in adequate amounts; beyond 1 or 2 percent).

Iron oxide powder is available in many colors. Here are three.

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How can there be so many colors? Because iron and oxygen can combine in many ways. In ceramics we know Fe2O3 as red iron and Fe3O4 as black iron (the latter being the more concentrated form). But would you believe there are 6 others (one is Fe13O19!). And four phases of Fe2O3. Plus more iron hydroxides (yellow iron is Fe(OH)3).

Same high-iron glaze. One crystallizes and the other does not. Why?

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Both mugs use the same cone 6 oxidation high-iron (9%), high-boron, fluid melt glaze. Iron silicate crystals have completely invaded the surface of the one on the right, turning the gloss surface into a yellowy matte. Why? Multiple factors. This glaze does not contain enough iron to guarantee crystallization on cooling. When cooled quickly it fires the ultragloss near-black on the left. As cooling is slowed at some point the iron will begin to precipitate as small scattered golden crystals (sometimes called Teadust or Sparkles). As cooling slows further the number and size of these increases. Their maximum saturation is achieved on the discovery, usually by accident, of the exact temperature they form at (normally hundreds of degrees below the firing cone). Potters seek this type of glaze but industry avoids it because of difficulties with consistency.

The amazing color change from 500F to room temperature in terra cotta

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This is common with high iron clays, they lighten dramatically during the last few hundred degrees of cooling in the kiln.

How do black, red and yellow iron additions compare in a glaze?

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Example of 5% black iron oxide (left), red iron oxide (center) and yellow iron oxide (right) added to G1214W glaze, sieved to 100 mesh and fired to cone 8. The black is slightly darker, the yellow has no color? Do you know why?

Ceramic Oxide Periodic Table

All common traditional ceramic base glazes are made from only a dozen elements (plus oxygen). Materials decompose when glazes melt, sourcing these elements in oxide form. The kiln builds the glaze from these, it does not care what material sources what oxide (assuming, of course, that all materials do melt or dissolve completely into the melt to release those oxides). Each of these oxides contributes specific properties to the glass. So, you can look at a formula and make a good prediction of the properties of the fired glaze. And know what specific oxide to increase or decrease to move a property in a given direction (e.g. melting behavior, hardness, durability, thermal expansion, color, gloss, crystallization). And know about how they interact (affecting each other). This is powerful. And it is simpler than looking at glazes as recipes of hundreds of different materials (each sources multiple oxides so adjusting it affects multiple properties).

Links

Materials Iron Oxide Red
Red iron oxide is the most common colorant used in ceramic bodies and glazes. As a powder, it is available in red, yellow, black and other colors.
Oxides FeO - Ferrous Oxide

Mechanisms

Body ColorIn low fire the presence of iron produces red terra cotta colors that progress to brown with maturity. High temperature red bodies depend on stopping firing well short of vitrification. In higher temperature vitreous bodies fired in reduction iron is converted to actively melting black iron oxide that teams up with feldspathic melts that can dissolve benificial mullite and quartz crystals. As iron - rich liquids cool into glass, the glass has a brittle character.
Glaze ColorLow fire lead, potash and soda glazes encourage reddish colors with iron. Should be barium free.
Glaze ColorIn reduction glazes Fe2O3 tends to fire bluish or turquoise to apple green with high soda (boric oxide may enhance). 0.5% iron with K2O may give delicate blue to blue green.
Glaze ColorIron produces a wide range of browns in bodies and glazes at all temperatures.
Glaze ColorFe2O3 tends to fire yellowish with calcia and in alkaline glazes straw yellow to yellow brown. In reduction, 3-4% iron with 0.4 BaO, 0.15 KNaO, 0.25 CaO, 0.2 MgO, 0.3 Al2O3, 1.7 SiO2 and 15-20% zircon opacifier will produce a yellow opaque.
By Tony Hansen
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