Study on the storage stability of ceramic ink

3.1.1 Experimental Results and Discussion

After 8 hours of oscillating grinding, the particle size, viscosity, and centrifugal sedimentation rate were measured. The results are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Particle Size, Viscosity, and Centrifugal Sedimentation Rate

At a dispersant dosage of 5%, dispersant 6042A demonstrates superior particle size reduction compared to dispersant 6042B; however, its wetting and viscosity reduction performance, as well as its centrifugal sedimentation rate, are inferior to those of dispersant 6042B.

3.2 Effect of Different Solvents on Centrifugal Sedimentation Rate

Table 4. Experimental Formulations with Different Solvents

Table 5. Particle Size, Viscosity, and Centrifugal Sedimentation Rate

From the above results, it can be observed that different solvents have a significant impact on the centrifugal sedimentation rate. Among the formulations, pure white oil (Sample 1#) exhibits the best performance, while isopropyl laurate (Sample 3#) shows the worst performance.

3.3 Effect of Ceramic Ink Particle Size and Viscosity on Centrifugal Sedimentation Rate

Based on the experimental results in Section 3.1, dispersant 6042B was selected at a dosage of 5%, and the grinding time was varied to 3, 4, and 5 hours. The experimental formulations are shown in Table 6.

Table 6. Ceramic Ink Formulations

The particle size, viscosity, and centrifugal sedimentation rate after grinding are shown in Table 7.

Table 7. Particle Size, Viscosity, and Centrifugal Sedimentation Rate

• The larger the Z-average particle size and D50 particle size, the lower the viscosity.
• Viscosity has a minor effect on the centrifugal sedimentation rate.
• The Z-average particle size and D90 particle size have a significant impact on the centrifugal sedimentation rate. The larger the particle size, the higher the centrifugal sedimentation rate.

3.4 Effect of Different Anti-Settling Agents on the Centrifugal Sedimentation Rate of Ceramic Inks

Table 8. Experimental Formulations

After 3 hours of grinding, when the particle size of the slurries had not yet reached the required specification, all formulations except 3# exhibited anti-settling effects, with Sample 4# showing the best performance.

​3.5 Effect of Different Anti-Settling Agents on the Thermal Storage Stability of Ceramic Inks

Ceramic inks were prepared according to the formulations in Table 10 and ground for 5 hours. The thermal storage stability was evaluated after storage in an oven at 50°C for 72 hours. The results are shown in Table 11.

The sedimentation rate and hard settling rate were calculated as follows:

Sedimentation Rate = (Initial ink height − Height of the lower layer after stratification) / Initial ink height × 100%

Hard Settling Rate = Mass of hard sediment / Total mass of ink × 100%

Table 10. Experimental Formulations

Table 11. Thermal Storage Stability Results

From the above table and chart, the following observations can be made:

For the anti-settling agents tested in this experiment, the results indicate that they do not provide anti-settling effects under thermal storage conditions.

Increasing the dosage of dispersant 6042B improves thermal storage stability. When the dosage is increased to 6%, the performance is superior to that of the reference sample.

4. Experimental Conclusions

Dispersant Anjeka 6042A exhibits slightly better particle size reduction performance than Anjeka 6042B, but its wetting, viscosity reduction, and stability performance are inferior to those of Anjeka 6042B.

The dosage of dispersant has a significant impact on particle size and viscosity. Within a certain dosage range, increasing the dispersant content reduces particle size and viscosity while improving stability.

The choice of solvent has a considerable effect on stability, with pure white oil yielding the best performance.

When particle size and viscosity are reduced to a certain range, viscosity has a minor effect on stability, while larger Z-average particle size and D90 particle size lead to poorer stability.

For the anti-settling agents tested in this experiment, once the slurry particle size reaches the required specification for the product, the anti-settling agents lose their stabilizing effect.

Increasing the dosage of dispersant 6042B improves thermal storage stability, and at a dosage of 6%, the performance is superior to that of the reference sample.