Relation between the microstructure and technological properties of porcelain stoneware. A review

Porcelain stoneware is a strongly sintered ceramic material fabricated from ball clays-quartz-feldspar mixtures. Porcelain stoneware is characterized by its excellent technical and functional properties (low water absorption, high mechanical properties, resistant to chemical substances and cleaning agents, aesthetic possibilities …). These characteristic and technical features make that among the different types of ceramic tile, porcelain stoneware is the ceramic product that in the last years has best withstood the economic crisis in the construction sector. These properties are related to the microstructure of porcelain stoneware, which is a grain and bond type with large particles of filler (quartz), mullite crystals, a silica-rich amorphous phase and porosity. The understanding of the relationship between the microstructure and the properties of porcelain stoneware is hardly important for the development and design of these materials whose tendency is the manufacture of thinner tiles with higher dimensions but must continue to comply the specific technical requirements.