Abstract
[ $Al_2TiO_5$ ]has a high refractive index and good solubility of the chromophore in the $Al_2TiO_5$ lattice, which allows this structure to be a good candidate for the development of new ceramic pigments. However, pure $Al_2TiO_5$ is well known to decompose on firing at $900{\sim}1100^{\circ}C$. However, this process can be inhibited by the incorporation of certain metal cations into its crystalline lattice. In this study, the synthesis of gray ceramic pigment was performed by doping cobalt on the $Al_2TiO_5$ crystal structure. The $Al_2TiO_5$ was synthesized using $Al_2O_3$ and $TiO_2$, and doped with $Co_3O_4$ as a chromophore material. In order to prevent the thermal decomposition during the cooling procedure, MgO was added to samples by 0.05 mole, 0.1 mole, and 0.15 mole as a stabilizer. The samples were fired at $1500^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours and cooled naturally. The crystal structure, solubility limit, and color of the synthesized pigment were analyzed using XRD, Raman spectroscopy, UV, and UV-vis. $Al_2O_3$ was available for the formation of $CoAl_2O_4$, which should also be considered in order to explain the small amount of this phase detected in the sample with the higher $Co^{2+}$ content (${\geq}$ 0.03 mole). It was found that the solubility limit of $Co^{2+}$ in the $Al_2TiO_5$ crystal was 0.02 mole% through an analysis of Raman spectroscopy. Through the addition of a pigment with 0.02 mole% of $Co^{2+}$ to lime-barium glaze, stabilized gray color pigments with 66.54, -2.35, and 4.68 as CIE-$L^*a^*b^*$ were synthesized.