Effects of precipitant and surfactant on co-precipitation synthesis of Nd2Si2O7 ceramic pigment

•Nd2Si2O7 was synthesized by a co-precipitation method in alcohol–water as a solvent.•Precipitants have an effect on the phase composition of Nd2Si2O7 precursors.•Surfactants can decrease the grain size of Nd2Si2O7.•A correlation between grain size and color properties was investigated.

A light-violet ceramic pigment of neodymium disilicate (Nd2Si2O7) was prepared by a co-precipitation method with alcohol–water as a solvent. The influence of precipitants (i.e., ammonium hydroxide, ammonium hydrogen carbonate and urea) on the phase composition and thermal behavior of the prepared precursors was investigated. The result shows that ammonium hydroxide as a precipitant can obtain an amorphous precursor, which can transform to the pure Nd2Si2O7 phase at 1200 °C for 5 h. Also, the phase formation process and micro-morphology of the Nd2Si2O7 powder prepared with polyethylene glycol (i.e., PEG-10000) as a surfactant were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), respectively. The addition of surfactant PEG-10000 can favor the dispersion of the resultant Nd2Si2O7 powder with smaller grains. In addition, Nd2Si2O7 powder with smaller grains has a more effective effect on the scattering of light, and Nd2Si2O7 powder with greater grains shows a deeper color.

Graphical abstractThe addition of the surfactant (i.e., PEG-10000) could favor the dispersion of the resultant Nd2Si2O7 powder with smaller grains. Nd2Si2O7 powder with smaller grains could have a more effective effect on the scattering of light, and Nd2Si2O7 powders with larger grains showed a deeper color.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide