fritted

Fritted is an adjective applied to materials or surfaces that incorporate frit, a glassy product formed by melting raw materials and then cooling to a granular or fused state.

In ceramics and glazes, frit is produced by melting precursors such as silica, fluxes, and coloring oxides, then quenching to a glassy material that can be ground into a powder. The frit is added to glazes to lower firing temperatures, control color response, and improve suspension and gloss. Particle size and frit composition influence melting behavior, texture, and glaze stability.

In glassmaking and jewelry, frit is used as granules or fused onto beads and tiles to create colored surfaces or textures. Fritted glass beads can be produced by incorporating frit into a core or by fusing frit granules onto a substrate, yielding varied color patterns and surface effects without fully melting the base material.

In laboratory and industrial filtration, fritted glass refers to porous discs, plates, and tubes made by fusing glass to form a defined pore network. Fritted glass serves as filters, supports for catalysts, or diffusion media, with pore sizes that determine flow rate and separation efficiency.

The term fritted also appears in other contexts where frit is applied as a surface coating or embedded layer, such as certain enamel or ceramic processes. Overall, fritting enables lower-temperature processing, controlled microstructure, and expanded material functionality.