Lead-tin yellow

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How Lead-tin yellow is made:

Artificial variety of pigment Lead-tin yellow (type II) is produced by fusing lead, tin, and quartz compounds at about 800° C, yielding a yellow lead glass pigment that is ground and screened through a fine mesh.
In the lab
Materials needed: PbO or PbO2 or Pb3O4 (minium) and SnO2
Safety (MSDSs): Tin(IV) oxide, lead(II) oxide, lead(IV) oxide, (at Fisher Scientific)
Method: Mixture of three parts lead oxide(PbO, PbO2, or minium) and one part tin oxide(SnO2) is heated at temperatures between 650 and 800°C. Lower temperatures yield a more orange color, higher temperatures yield more lemon-hued colors. Some types of lead-tin yellow are prepared in molten glass.

Illustration of the process:

Making lead-tin yellow in the laboratory

The mixture of tin(IV) oxide and minium is being homogenized
Starting materials
The mixture of tin(IV) oxide and minium is being homogenized
The reaction mixture prior to heating
The reaction mixture is being put into the preheated oven
The finished product
The reaction mixture prior to heating
The reaction mixture is being put into the preheated oven
The finished product

The ground pigment:

Pile of ground Lead-tin yellow

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