Synthesis and characterization of Zn1-xMnxO yellow pigment with high near-infrared reflectance

A series of Zn1-xMnxO (0.001 ≤ x ≤ 0.009) inorganic yellow pigments were prepared by a high-temperature solid-phase method using ZnO and MnO as raw materials. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), thermogravimetric differential scanning calorimetry (TG-DSC) and so on were applied to test and analyze the designed pigments. The Zn1-xMnxO pigments do not contain rare earth elements. The raw materials required for the production of the pigment are readily available and the cost of raw materials is low. The pigment has a high near-infrared (NIR) solar reflectance of 71.87%–84.02%. The pigment can improve the NIR reflectance of the glaze. The box simulation experiment revealed that the Zn0.995Mn0.005O pigment has better thermal shielding performance than the commercial iron yellow pigment. Additionally, the pigment also has good chemical stability. Therefore, Zn1-xMnxO pigments have potential as cold pigments and can be applied to architectural coatings to achieve energy saving effects.