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 67h.sub.1578 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 67h.sub.1578 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

An object of the present invention is to provide an ultraviolet and/or near-infrared shielding agent composition for transparent material using silicon compound-coated silicon-doped zinc oxide particles that are controlled in properties in an ultraviolet region and/or a near-infrared region. The present invention provides an ultraviolet and/or near-infrared shielding agent composition for transparent material used for a purpose of shielding ultraviolet rays and/or near-infrared rays, the ultraviolet and/or near-infrared shielding agent composition for transparent material featuring that the ultraviolet and/or near-infrared shielding agent contains silicon compound-coated silicon-doped zinc oxide particles, with which surfaces of silicon-doped zinc oxide particles that are zinc oxide particles doped with at least silicon are at least partially coated with a silicon compound.

The present invention provides a glitter pigment suitable for imparting high brightness to reflected light toward a regular reflection direction and reducing unnaturalness caused by an observation angle-dependent variation in reflected light. The glitter pigment according to the present invention includes: a flaky substrate; an optical interference film formed on a surface of the flaky substrate; and fine light scattering particles attached to the optical interference film, wherein reflected light is represented by an L*(15) value of more than 100, a L*(hs) value of less than 30, and a h(hs) value of less than 40 in an L*C*h color system. The L*(15) value is an L* value of the reflected light toward a 15 direction based on an angular representation in which, when an illuminant is disposed so that an incident angle is 45, an angle at which light is regularly reflected is defined as 0 and a light incident direction is defined as positive. The L*(hs) value is a difference in L* between a highlight and shade, and the h(hs) value is a difference in h between a highlight and shade. The h value expressed in angle is an angular difference. The highlight is an average of values measured at 15 and 25, and the shade is an average of values measured at 75 and 110.

An inorganic, non-quarter wave, heterogeneous multilayer effect pigment includes a platy substrate comprising an absorbing optically active metal oxide layer thereon, having an optical thickness from about 20 nm to about 400 nm; a layer of low refractive index material on the absorbing optically active metal oxide layer and having an optical thickness from about 10 nm to about 500 nm; and an outermost optically active layer of a non-absorbing high refractive index material on the low refractive index material and having an optical thickness from about 50 nm to about 1000 nm. The multilayer effect pigment exhibits a blue reflectance ratio (BRR) of at least 3, according to the equation: BRR=(Blue Max)/(Green Min); where Blue Max is the maximum reflectance exhibited over wavelengths 380 nm to 450 nm; and Green Min is the minimum reflectance exhibited over wavelengths 450 nm to 600 nm.

There are very few violet or pink colored commercial pigments that display high heat stability, resistance to acidic conditions, or good lightfastness. This technology results in pigments that fall into the above color space, but display improved chemical and weathering stability. The pigments based of this technology have the molar ratio (A.sub.2O).sub.x(BO).sub.y(C.sub.2O.sub.5).sub.z(DO.sub.3).sub.w(EO.sub.2).sub.v, where 2x+y+2z+w+v100. Where A is Li or Li with one or more of Cu, Na, or K, where B is Co or Co with one or more of Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, Sn, or Zn, where C is Nb, Sb, or combination thereof, where D is Mo, W or combination thereof, where E is Sn, Ti, Zr, or combination thereof. The above formulation may be modified with a dopant addition of Al, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Ce, Cr, La, P, Pr, Si, Sr, Ta, V, or Y where the dopant concentration represents 5 atomic % or less of the total number of moles of components A+B+C+D+E.

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.

A bright pigment according to the present invention includes: a glass flake; a titanium oxide layer formed over the glass flake; and fine gold particles deposited on the titanium oxide layer or placed between the glass flake and the titanium oxide layer. The titanium oxide layer has a thickness of 150 nm or more, and a reflected color of the bright pigment is a blue to green color represented by a C* value of 15 or more and a h value of 150 to 300 in a L*C*h color system.

The current technology is directed to red and red-shade violet pigments with an hexagonal ABO.sub.3 structure of the form Y(In, M)O.sub.3 in which M is substituted for In in the trigonal bipyramidal B site of the ABO.sub.3 structure, and where M is a mixture containing Co.sup.2+ and charge compensating ions, or M is a mixture containing Co.sup.2+ and charge compensating ions, as well as other aliovalent and isovalent ions.

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.

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.