Synthesis of high color performance V-ZrSiO4 blue pigment with low doping amount via inorganic sol–gel route

Abstract In this paper, high color performance vanadium ion (V4+) doped ZrSiO4 (V-ZrSiO4) blue pigment with low doping amount has been successfully synthesized by inorganic sol–gel route. According to the phase evolution and color behavior of the samples, the formation mechanism of the V-ZrSiO4 pigment was revealed. Besides, due to the immobilization effect of the gel network and the high precursor reactivity, the reported synthesis route has extremely high vanadium utilization ratio (99.69%). Based on the results of XPS and XRF analysis, it is found that the valence state of vanadium ion in the V-ZrSiO4 pigment is 4+, meanwhile, the vanadium cations are heterogeneously distributed in the pigment particles and are enriched within the outer layers. Compared with the previously reported V-ZrSiO4 pigments, the as-prepared V-ZrSiO4 pigment shows a bright blue hue (b*=–22.01), in which the theoretical content of V4+ is only 2 mol%. After applying on ceramic glaze, the V-ZrSiO4 pigment exhibited superior coloring performance and high-temperature stability, indicating its potential application in ceramic decoration. This work provides a facile strategy to synthesize high color performance ion-doping type pigment.