Gold nanoparticle colorants as traditional ceramic glaze alternatives

Historically, Roman stained glass has been a standard for high‐temperature color stability since biblical times but was not properly characterized as emission from nanoparticle plasmon resonance until the 1990s. The methods under which it was created have been lost, but some efforts have recently been made to recreate these properties using gold nanoparticle inks on glassy surfaces. This body of work employs gold nanoparticle systems ranging from 0.015% to 0.100% (wt/wt), suspended in a clear glaze body. The glazes are fired with traditional ceramic methods—in both gas reduction and electric oxidation kilns—in which nanoparticles are retained and can be imaged via TEM. Various colors intensities are reported in addition to changes in nanoparticle size after application and firing. The nanoparticle glazes are compared to traditional red glazes, highlighting the significantly lower metal loading required (5%‐10% for traditional glazes vs 0.100% for gold (wt/wt)), therein. Finally, proof of concept is provided with a functional gold nanoparticle mug, fired in reduction, that costs roughly 0.98$ USD in gold used.