Bismuth vanadate yellow
Composition and Properties of Bismuth Vanadate Yellow
The pigment is a salt with a formula of BiVO4. It can also be considered a mixed oxide of the elements bismuth and vanadium.The pigment is very stable and weather-resistant, the only exception being its sensitivity to strong alkalis. It has also excellent hiding power and tinting strength. It is non-toxic and can be used as a substitute for the poisonous cadmium, chrome and lead-containing pigments such as cadmium yellow, chrome yellow and lead-tin yellow.
Names
PY 184, CI 771740Bismuth: from obsolete German Bismuth, also Wismut, Wissmuth, which is of unknown origin; perhaps a miner’s contraction of wis mat “white mass,” from Old High German hwiz “white.” Latinized 1530 by Georgius Agricola (who may have been the first to recognize it as an element) as bisemutum. From the Online Etymology DictionaryVanadium: from Old Norse Vanadis, one of the names of the Norse beauty goddess Freyja.From the Online Etymology Dictionary
Preparation
The pigment can be prepared by slowly adding a solution of sodium vanadate to a solution of bismuth nitrate. The resulting precipitate is then filtered, dried and subsequently heated at 550 – 600 °C for 6 hours (1).Bismuth vanadate can also be found in nature as the mineral pucherite.
History of Use
The pigment has been in use since about the second half of the twentieth century.
