An engineered stone includes a light transmitting mother material (I) and a phosphorescent chip (II). The light transmitting mother material (I) includes about 7 wt % to about 12 wt % of an unsaturated polyester resin (A), about 88 wt % to about 93 wt % of a silica-containing compound (B) and about 0.01 part by weight to about 1 part by weight of an organic/inorganic pigment (C) based on about 100 parts by weight of the unsaturated polyester resin (A). The phosphorescent chip (II) includes about 8 wt % to about 15 wt % of an unsaturated polyester resin (A), about 85 wt % to about 92 wt % of a silica-containing compound (B) and about 2 parts by weight to about 10 parts by weight of a phosphorescent pigment (D) based on about 100 parts by weight of the unsaturated polyester resin (A).

A zirconia sintered body comprising 3.0 wt % or more and 30.0 wt % or less of aluminum in terms of Al.sub.2O.sub.3 and a remainder is zirconia containing 2 mol % or more and 4 mol % or less of erbia, in which the zirconia sintered body includes grains of aluminum oxide, and a total light transmittance with respect to a D65 light source at a sample thickness of 1.0 mm is 10% or less.

The present invention relates to a kit of parts comprising a dental mill blank comprising a porous zirconia material and a colouring solution for colouring the porous zirconia material. The porous zirconia material comprises Zr oxide calculated as ZrO2: from 80 to 97 wt.-%, Al oxide calculated as Al2O3: from 0 to 0.15 wt.-%, Y oxide calculated as Y2O3: from 1 to 10 wt.-%, Bi oxide calculated as Bi2O3: from 0.01 to 0.2 wt.-%, the porous zirconia material not comprising Fe calculated as Fe2O3 in an amount of more than 0.01 wt.-%, wt.-% with respect to the weight of the porous zirconia material. The colouring solution comprises solvent(s), colouring agent(s) comprising metal ions selected from Tb, Er, Pr, Mn or combinations thereof, the solution not comprising Fe ions in an amount of more than 0.01 wt.-%, the solution not comprising Bi ions in an amount of more than 0.01 wt.-%, wt.-% with respect to the weight of the colouring solution. The invention also relates to a process of producing a dental restoration, the process comprising the steps: providing a dental mill blank comprising a porous zirconia material as described in any of the preceding claims, machining an article out of the porous zirconia material, the article having the shape of a dental restoration with an outer and inner surface, providing a colouring solution as described in any of the preceding claims, applying the colouring solution to at least portions of the surface of the article having the shape of a dental restoration.

The present invention relates generally to silicate-based coatings and to methods to make and apply same. In one embodiment, the silicate-coatings of the present invention are formed from a two part mixture of phosphate-based component and a glass-based component. In another embodiment, the silicate-based coatings of the present invention are free from any organic materials.

An outer peripheral coating member contains first particles containing titanium oxide, second particles containing zirconium oxide, third particles containing niobium oxide or aluminum oxide, and a dispersion medium. It is preferable for the first particles to have at least two peak values R1 in a distribution of particle sizes of the first particles. One of the peak values R1 is within a range of 1 to 50 nm, and the other peak value R1 is within a range of 100 to 500 nm.

Disclosed are a semi-transparent ceramic sheet decorated through ink light-absorbance and a preparation method thereof. The semi-transparent ceramic sheet comprises a semi-transparent green body, an inner inkjet pattern layer infiltrating into the semi-transparent green body from an upper surface of the semi-transparent green body, a decoloration glaze layer located on the upper surface, and a surface pattern layer located on the decoloration glaze layer. The decoloration glaze layer is capable of decoloring the ink of the inner inkjet pattern layer. The semi-transparent ceramic sheet is provided with the decoloration glaze layer so that the inkjet decoration of the inner inkjet pattern layer cannot be displayed on the surface, and the decorative pattern on the surface of the green body is the surface pattern layer and the inner inkjet pattern layer is completely in the inner layer of the green body.

The method for manufacturing a ceramic component, in particular a ceramic component containing zirconia and/or alumina, for a timepiece or a jewelry piece, is characterised in that it includes a step (E3) of depositing at least one additional element or compound on a ceramic powder, optionally bound, by atomic layer deposition (ALD).

A process for manufacturing a ceramic powder with binder includes at least one additional element or compound, the ceramic powder with binder being in particular based on zirconia and/or alumina and/or strontium aluminate, wherein the process includes a step (E3) of depositing at least one additional element or compound on a ceramic powder with binder by a physical vapour deposition (PVD) and/or by a chemical vapour deposition (CVD) and/or by an atomic layer deposition (ALD).

A composition for artificial marble, of the present invention comprises: a binder resin; an inorganic filler excluding zinc oxide; and zinc oxide, wherein the zinc oxide has a size ratio (B/A), in which peak A is a 370 nm to 390 nm region and peak B is a 450 nm to 600 nm region, of approximately 0.01 to 1 during photoluminescence measurement, and has a BET surface area of approximately 10 m.sup.2/g or less.

The present invention involves a multiplayer artificial stone and its preparation method. The decorative layer comprises the following components in percentage by weight: 80%-90% of a decorative stone, 5%-15% of an unsaturated polyester resin, 0.6%-2% of a coupling agent, 0.7%-1.2% of a curing agent, and 1%-5% of a pigment filler. The bottom layer comprises the following components in percentage by weight: 65%-78% of a calcium carbonate stone, 10%-18% of an unsaturated polyester resin, 0.6%-2% of a coupling agent, 0.7%-1.2% of a curing agent, and 1-15% of a pigment filler. The preparation method involves preparing the decorative layer and the bottom layer separately and then binding the two layers together by pressing. This arrangement allows the multilayer artificial stone to have good decorative effect and product quality; in addition, each layer contains only one type of stone, therefore its preparation is easier and can be more precisely controlled, lowering production cost.