Color performance and near infrared reflectance property of novel yellow pigment based on Fe2TiO5 nanorods decorated mica composites

To obtain cool yellow pigments with high near-infrared reflectance, mica/Fe2TiO5 composite pigments were synthesized by a chemical liquid deposition method. The developed composite pigment powders were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electronic microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), UV-vis-NIR diffuse reflectance spectra, and CIEL*a*b* color scales. Different sized Fe2TiO5 nanorods were coated on the surface of mica particles. The particle size of the nanorods increased with increasing molar ratio of Fe3+ to Ti4+. The obtained composite pigments showed strong ultraviolet shielding ability and high near-infrared reflectance property. What's more, the Fe2TiO5 coating with smaller particle size possessed higher reflectance in the region of 700-1500 nm in accordance with the Kubelka-Munk theory. The near-infrared solar reflectance of mica/Fe2TiO5 composites was as high as 80.3%. An approximately 3 °C decrease in interior temperature was obtained for the heat box coated with the composite pigments. Furthermore, the composite pigments exhibit brilliant yellow colors. Therefore, mica/Fe2TiO5 composites are excellent near infrared reflective yellow pigments for efficient solar reflective coatings.