Alternate Names: Waterglass
Description: Na2SiO3 Deflocculant, De-flocculant
Sodium Silicate is commonly used in ceramics as a deflocculant in slip preparation by neutralizing the charges of particles in the slip, allowing for more even suspension and thinning.
 
Because sodium silicate is sticky and dries hard, it can be used as a glue to bind ceramic particles together, even aggregates. On firing, it forms a ceramic bond. Mixtures of sodium silicate and perlite, for example, can be rammed into molds to form shapes that dry with zero shrinkage and have excellent insulating properties. It can be incorporated into bodies to improve their dry strength. As the main ingredient in Magic Water, it can bind leather-hard clay sections better than the clay slurry (slip) alone.