MisterP Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 I would love to add some glow in the dark type of glaze to my current work focusing on fireflies... does such a thing exist? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liambesaw Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 Nope, they might have a glow in the dark enamel though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 Don't know about lustres, but there was a flurry of interest in "glow in the dark" glazes some years ago. I even saw small quantities of the phosphors for sale, with low-fire glaze recipes. Sadly a quick look didn't find anything currently available on the retail market. Probably a fair amount available wholesale from China! Like most "luminous" substances they probably require some exposure to sunlight/UV to "charge" them. A few urls to give you the idea:https://ceramicartsnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/cmjja04glowingglaze.pdfhttp://www.potters.org/subject94692.htmhttp://www.gtamart.com/mart/products/phspgmnt/glaze.htmlhttp://www.luminggroup.com/english/product/index.asp?sid=165&sel_id=151&sel_id_02=165 There seem to be other pigments (perhaps glazes) that simply glow under UV light.https://www.darkniteglow.com/product/uv-light-reactive-powder/ Regards, Peter PS A search with a more scientific terminology "photoluminescent glasses" foundhttps://tinyurl.com/y2aw55bo The ones based on strontium aluminate may well work in a low-fire glaze which doesn't dissolve it. ... wiki gives "temperatures above 1090 °C is likely to cause loss of its phosphorescent properties" Vaguely relevant paper https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/6ecd/665a0fcfe721fd4431e40583faac200e80fc.pdf ... which unfortunately doesn't seem to say what glaze they used, nor why they mixed it with alcohol rather than water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 2 hours ago, liambesaw said: Nope, they might have a glow in the dark enamel though Sure do, and probably the easiest way to go. You can also mix the pigments with a wide range of mediums, e.g. acrylic.https://glowtec.co.uk/starglow-powder/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilestrick Posted August 8, 2019 Report Share Posted August 8, 2019 When I was in grad school I knew Brian Jensen, who developed the glow in the dark glaze in those links. It was pretty cool stuff. I've still got a little fired sample here in my studio. You have to charge it with light, then it glows, just like glow in the dark stickers. It really glows well, too. Bright stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted August 9, 2019 Report Share Posted August 9, 2019 This paper discusses a low-fire glaze for strontium aluminate based pigments. https://tinyurl.com/yyvafwbl Bottom line is 80% borax, 10% potash feldspar & 10% kaolin. Consistent with my suspicion that high-alkali glazes might be best avoided as they might attack phosphor grains. Presumably needs reformulation ... non-soluble ... frit based. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnolia Mud Research Posted August 9, 2019 Report Share Posted August 9, 2019 6 hours ago, PeterH said: This paper discusses a low-fire glaze for strontium aluminate based pigments. https://tinyurl.com/yyvafwbl Bottom line is 80% borax, 10% potash feldspar & 10% kaolin. Consistent with my suspicion that high-alkali glazes might be best avoided as they might attack phosphor grains. Presumably needs reformulation ... non-soluble ... frit based. Peter, From what I have read the "solubility" issue is that the "strontium aluminate based pigments" must NOT be soluble in the melt. Aqueous solubility probably is also important, for if the pigment is dissolved in water, the doped crystals may not reform as doped crystals on drying and therefore will not available for storing the energy need to produce the "glow" (that would answer your earlier question "why they mixed it with alcohol rather than water"). Am I close or way off base in my understanding? LT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted August 9, 2019 Report Share Posted August 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Magnolia Mud Research said: Peter, From what I have read the "solubility" issue is that the "strontium aluminate based pigments" must NOT be soluble in the melt. Aqueous solubility probably is also important, for if the pigment is dissolved in water, the doped crystals may not reform as doped crystals on drying and therefore will not available for storing the energy need to produce the "glow" (that would answer your earlier question "why they mixed it with alcohol rather than water"). Am I close or way off base in my understanding? LT You are absolutely right, I very much doubt that doped crystals could reconstitute themselves, even if the firing conditions were ideal for recrystallization of the host crystal itself. Regards, Peter The "why they mixed it with alcohol rather than water" point I'm less clear on. I mentioned it in case anybody else could spot it's significance (if any). As you bring the point up I'll elaborate on my position. I didn't believe that strontium aluminate was water soluble, but I couldn't find a handy reference giving an actual number. I did find several data-sheets claiming that it was insoluble in water -- but also one that suggested that is was soluble in water. However use of water-based media such as acrylic seems to be recommended for the pigments. So my current belief is that water solubility just isn't an issue. I suspect that the chemists used alcohol-based techniques in the preparation of the glaze because (in their line of work): - It's what they are used to doing (accuracy and reproducibility are important to them, so tried-and-tested is rightly valued) - You can evaporate alcohol easily, especially with a mild vacuum (time is money) - The cost, H&S and waste-disposal issues are insignificant in a lab context But that's probably because it's the only vaguely plausible explanation I can come up with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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