You're going to love the YInMn blue synthesis. No sulfur oxide fumes, you get blue color the first heating cycle to know it works, when if a trial doesn't 't work the oxides are unreacted and reusable, and results are very consistent. You just need to be able to reach 1200°C. Only concern I have is I did all my work in electric furnaces, so I don't know how using a directly heated gas fired kiln will work. One of the electric kilns would be a safer bet.
Didn't have access to an electric furnace, and while I did get to use a kiln for the YInMn Blue project later on, the art director said I couldn't use one for this process because the sulfur fumes would rapidly corrode the heating elements, so we opted instead to modify this homemade propane-tank forge for this procedure.
i think a big issue is you surface area to volume ratio. compacting so much material on itself doesn't allow for proper air flow / reduction atmosphere to interact with all of the elements. in a beaker with chemicals you have a stir bar that forces materials to interact, thus increasing rxn time and % yield. You can either stir materials, make smaller batches, flat plate batches, or scaffold lattice (removeable tubes that will leave voids in your material, think sand mold) batches will allow more material to interact with penetration depth of atmosphere. I did something similar with rubies when i first started way before the days of youtube. Some success but never thought about making it into a paint... ruby paint would be awesome now that i think about it.
this is a valid critique of my method here. I think industrial production involves making bricks of ultramarine but maybe without having the crucible, there's sufficient gas flow to the sample. Also I think ruby paint would be awesome.
HI :) I hope you’ll see this comment very soon, because I really need your help here ;) I am doing a school work about this synthesis and I would like to know the mass of blue you got in general after each synthesis, if you remember it please :) I need it to make some measures and scientific stuff Thank you for your answer !
Neat topic and well presented! I don't think I'd heard of the thioozonide ion, I'll have to read the papers you posted. ahh... frisky bismuth, I get it xD
