Synthesis and application of high-performance oil painting pigments

Lead chrome yellow is the most widely used yellow pigment, but it contains heavy metals lead and chromium to easily darken under sunlight. To avoid negative impacts, here, Ce x Bi 1-x VO 4 ( x  = 0, 0.05, 0.1, 0.15 and 0.2, respectively) pigments were prepared using liquid phase precipitation method from ammonium metavanadate (NH 4 VO 3 ), bismuth nitrate pentahydrate (Bi(NO 3 ) 3 ·5H 2 O) and cerium nitrate hexahydrate (Ce(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O). Silica nanoparticles were used for strong weather resistance. The bright yellow Ce x Bi 1-x VO 4 @SiO 2 core–shell structured composite pigments were prepared. All Ce x Bi 1-x VO 4 samples are single phase without impurities. The bright yellow Ce 0.15 Bi 0.85 VO 4 @SiO 2 composite pigment exhibits yellowness ( b * = 89.73) better than the response value of BiVO 4 pigment ( b * = 82.72). The BiVO 4 @SiO 2 pigment shows the traits of L * = 86.06, a * =  − 0.81, b* = 82.54 and Δ E  = 4.31. After 672 h of UV exposure, Ce 0.15 Bi 0.85 VO 4 @SiO 2 pigment exhibits the properties of L * = 84.99, a * =  − 4.6, b * = 87.61 and Δ E  = 2.14. The composite exhibits high stability and ultraviolet (UV) resistance in acid, alkali and organic solvent. After Ce 0.15 Bi 0.85 VO 4 @SiO 2 pigment was soaked in 3.5 wt% NaCl solution for 268 h, the substrate corrosion just occurred. This work provides an effective solution for preparing the advanced eco-friendly yellow pigments.