Abstract
Purpose – Replacing nano clay for kaolin in ultramarine pigments was investigated. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach – Ultramarine pigments with both kaolin and nano clay were synthesized by traditional method. For this purpose, mixing of the raw materials consisted of calcined clay, sulfur, sodium hydroxide and Arabic gum was milled and then calcined at 8008C for 9 h under controlled atmosphere. The characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV-vis spectroscopy, colorimetery (CIELab method) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) techniques.
Findings – The investigations show that using nano clay results in richer pigments. XRD results reveal that the ultramarine phase formation is enhanced by using nano clay. SEM and DLS results also confirm that the ultramarine pigment synthesized by using nano clay has smaller particles than
that prepared by kaolin.
Originality/value – In this research, for the first time, nano clay was substituted for kaolin to synthesized ultramarine pigment.