Unlocking the Secrets of Han Blue: The Art and Science behind Its Synthesis

Giorgio Enrico Gagliardo Briuccia; Alessandro Lo Bianco; Francesco Armetta; Vitalii Boiko; Dariusz Hreniak; Maria Luisa Saladino

Abstract

Han Blue (HB, BaCuSi₄O₁₀) is a historically significant pigment widely used in ancient Chinese art and artifacts, recently found also to be able to efficiently convert red radiation into infrared radiation. This article focuses on the synthesis of Han Blue, on the one hand using what we know about ancient production techniques from the Han Dynasty, while on the other hand, through the use of modern techniques, allowing us to obtain a high-purity material that can also find use in modern optical applications. The synthesis was carried out using the solid-state synthesis method, particularly focusing on the effect of temperature treatment on the final physicochemical properties of the obtained samples. Results are showing that the temperature affects the composition of the powders. It has also been shown that under certain conditions of Han Blue synthesis, it is also possible to obtain varying amounts of the side phase of the so-called Purple Han, another synthetic pigment also used in ancient China, characterized by different optical properties.

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