Synthesis and characterization of red pearlescent pigments based on ‎muscovite and zirconia-nanoencapsulated hematite

Applications of mica-based pearlescent pigments are related to plastics, cosmetics, automobiles coatings among others, but they seem to be not explored by the ceramic industry. In this work, intensively red and gold colored muscovite pigments covered with layer of nanoparticles containing iron and zirconium oxides were prepared by homogeneous precipitation. The final color was obtained after thermal annealing. The pigments were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray fluorescence as well as measuring colorimetric parameters of the obtained ceramic materials. Results indicated that nanoparticles are formed on muscovite flakes and the red factor increases with iron content.