Facile preparation of highly cost-effective BaSO4@BiVO4 core-shell structured brilliant yellow pigment

•BaSO4@BiVO4 core-shell yellow pigments were prepared using facile sol–gel method.•BaSO4@BiVO4 particles with d0.5 of only 193 nm meet Gauss distribution very well.•BaSO4@BiVO4 core-shell structure can save incredibly 83.7 wt.% expensive BiVO4.•Color properties of BaSO4@BiVO4 is superior to BiVO4 in brightness and yellowness.

BiVO4 as an environmentally-friendly yellow pigment has been received increasing attention over the past two decades. Unfortunately, the relatively high cost hinders its large-scale applications. Herein, core-shell structured BaSO4@BiVO4 yellow pigments with a mean particle size of 193 nm were successfully synthesized, in which the BiVO4 coating has a pure monoclinic scheelite structure and a thickness of ∼5 nm. It is found that the appropriate particle size and monoclinic scheelite BiVO4 coating give this pigment a brilliant greenish-yellow color. For the BaSO4@BiVO4 micro-composite loaded with 16.3 wt.% BiVO4, its color coordinate L* and b* values can reach up to 76.53 and 75.46, much higher than the corresponding values 64.50 and 60.11 of pure BiVO4. Consequently, our strategy can save at least 83.7 wt.% BiVO4 without any detriments to color properties and also shows great potential in cutting down the cost of other expensive pigments.

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