The present invention relates to silicon coated metal microparticles in which at least a part of a surface of a metal microparticle composed of at least one of metal elements or metalloid elements is coated with silicon, wherein the silicon coated metal microparticles are a product obtained by a reduction treatment of silicon compound coated precursor microparticles in which at least a part of a surface of a precursor microparticle containing a precursor of the metal microparticles is coated with a silicon compound, or silicon doped precursor microparticles containing a precursor of the metal microparticles. Because it is possible particularly to strictly control a particle diameter of the silicon compound coated metal microparticle by controlling conditions of the reduction treatment, design of a more appropriate composition can become facilitated, compared with a conventional composition, in terms of diversified usages and desired properties of silicon compound coated metal microparticles.

A golden effect pigment comprising an optionally passivated platelet-shaped metallic substrate and an iron oxide layer, wherein the effect pigment has a hue angle h.sub.15 of 67°≤h.sub.15≤78° and a chroma C*.sub.15 of ≥90 is provided. Further, a golden effect pigment comprising an optionally passivated platelet-shaped metallic substrate and an iron oxide layer, wherein the effect pigment has a hue angle h.sub.15 of 67°≤h.sub.15≤78° and a chroma C*.sub.45 of ≥50 is provided. The golden effect pigments are highly chromatic and suitable for coloring a coating composition such as a paint, a printing ink, an ink, a varnish, plastics, a fiber, a film or a cosmetic preparation, preferably an automotive, an architectural or an industrial coating composition.

A method for producing oxide particles with controlled color characteristics and to provide oxide particles with controlled color characteristics includes controlling color characteristics of the oxide particles by controlling the ratio of M-OH bonds, the binding of one or more different elements (M) other than oxygen or hydrogen with hydroxyl group (OH), in oxide particles selected from metal oxide particles and metalloid oxide particles. Oxide particles having controlled color characteristics of any one of reflectance, transmittance, molar absorption coefficient, hue, or color saturation can be provided by controlling the percentage of the M-OH bonds contained in metal oxide particles or metalloid oxide particles.

With an aim to provide an oxide particle with controlled color characteristics, the present invention provides a method for producing an oxide particle, wherein the color characteristics of the oxide particle are controlled by controlling a M-OH bond/M-O bond ratio, which is a ratio of a M-OH bond between an element (M) and a hydroxide group (OH) to a ratio of an M-O bond between the element (M) and oxygen (O), where the element (M) is one or plural different elements other than oxygen or hydrogen included in the oxide particle selected from metal oxide particles and semi-metal oxide particles. According to the present invention, by controlling the M-OH bond/M-O bond ratio of the metal oxide particle or the semi-metal oxide particle, the oxide particle with controlled color characteristics of any of reflectance, transmittance, molar absorption coefficient, hue, and saturation can be provided.

A pigment composition comprising one or more filler particles and one or more pigments is useful as a seed coating. The pigment comprises one or more metal oxide coated filler particles. The composition does not comprise any materials that are no suitable for a seed coating. A coated seed is coated with the pigment composition.

A multilayer thin film structure having a reflective core particle, a dielectric layer directly encapsulating the reflective core particle, an absorber layer directly encapsulating the dielectric layer; an outer layer encapsulating the absorber layer. The multilayer thin film structure has a hue shift of less than 30° in the Lab color space when viewed at angles from 0° to 45°.

An asymmetric pigment including a first Fabry-Perot structure; and a second Fabry-Perot structure; wherein the first Fabry-Perot structure and the second Fabry-Perot structure have a similar hue angle within +/−45 degrees is disclosed. Other asymmetric pigments are also disclosed as well as methods of making the disclosed pigments.

The present invention relates to silicon-compound-coated fine metal particles, with which surfaces of fine metal particles, composed of at least one type of metal element or metalloid element, are at least partially coated with a silicon compound and a ratio of Si—OH bonds contained in the silicon-compound-coated fine metal particles is controlled to be 0.1% or more and 70% or less. By the present invention, silicon-compound-coated fine metal particles that are controlled in dispersibility and other properties can be provided by controlling the ratio of Si—OH bonds or the ratio of Si—OH bonds/Si—O bonds contained in the silicon-compound-coated fine metal particles. By controlling the ratio of Si—OH bonds or the ratio of Si—OH bonds/Si—O bonds, a composition that is more appropriate for diversifying applications and targeted properties of silicon-compound-coated fine metal particles than was conventionally possible can be designed easily.

The present disclosure provides an optical film, a structural colored pigment, and a method for preparing an optical film. The optical film includes a multilayer film. The multilayer film includes films with high refractive indexes and films with low refractive indexes alternately arranged in a multilayer manner, and a middle film. Some of the films with the high refractive indexes and some of the films with the low refractive indexes are disposed on a side of the middle film, constituting first other films. Optical thicknesses of films having a same refractive index in the optical films and an optical thickness of the middle film are all different or partially different.

A method for forming a multilayer thin film structure includes directly depositing an absorber layer to encapsulate a dielectric layer, and the dielectric layer encapsulates a reflective core particle. The method further including depositing an outer layer to encapsulate the absorber layer, and the multilayer thin film structure has a hue shift of less than 30° in the Lab color space when viewed at angles from 0° to 45°.