The present invention is directed to a coating composition containing metal particles, in particular noble metal particles, to the use of such a coating composition for the production of attractive metallic decorative elements on articles having an outer silicatic surface such as of porcelain, ceramic, china, bone china, glass or enamel, to metallic coatings on such substrates and to a process for the production of coatings of this kind. Decorative metallic coatings are highly desired for different consumer goods and architectural decorative elements. In particular gold and silver colored decorative elements apply to such goods the feeling of value and exclusivity. In general, noble metal containing compositions for decorating glass, porcelain, china, bone cina, ceramics or similar surfaces consist of solutions of organic gold, organic palladium and/or organic platinum compounds being dissolved in appropriate organic carrier materials, of synthetic or natural resins as well as fluxes. Compositions of this kind exhibit a good adhesion to the respective substrate. Following their application to the substrate surface, the coating composition is fired and decomposes to the corresponding metal oxides and/or metals which adhere to the substrate and exhibit a glossy or matte visual impression of the surface decorations of gold or silver color depending on the starting compounds.

There are several methods known for the application of the coating compositions. Often, printing applications such as screen printing or tampon printing are used, but hand decoration by brush, stamping or by writing with a pencil is also still used. The most common application process is screen printing. This process may be executed directly onto the surface of the silicate-type substrates as mentioned above, or may be executed in an indirect manner onto the surface of a transfer medium, wherefrom it is transferred to the surface of the corresponding silicate-type substrate. Although the screen printing process is of advantage, there is a desire to allow the application of decorative noble metal effect coatings onto silicatic surfaces by application processes which are faster than screen printing, such as ink jet printing and other high-velocity printing processes. In addition, the use of noble metal compounds like organic palladium compounds and organic platinum compounds for the creation of silver colored effects is very expensive. Thus, there is also a need to replace palladium and platinum by metals which are more cost effective and lead to similar silver colored decorations. Although silver compounds lend themselves to being used as starting material for the production of decorative silver effects on silicatic surfaces, the decomposition of organic silver compounds alone does not lead to shiny attractive silver colored decorations on silicatic surfaces, since the formation of defined metallic silver films or particles cannot be achieved without uncontrolled formation of dark silver oxide as undesired by-product.

Furthermore, there have also been attempts to use noble metal particles in the corresponding coating compositions. Regarding noble metals such as gold, platinum or palladium, some applications of nano-sized metal particles in coating compositions could be found, e.g. for burnished gold.

US 2016/0236280 discloses a process for the production of a layer structure which comprises nano-sized gold particles. They are used in a polar, protic organic solvent for the production of a shiny laminate structure at low temperatures. Thus, the coating of paper based substrates is possible, since the coating composition on the substrate is heated at a temperature in the range of from 25 to 200°C only. A protective layer, if present, has to be applied in a second step after the application of the gold- containing coating composition onto the substrate and the heating thereof.

Since nano-sized silver particles corrode easily because of their high specific surface area, they were not successfully used so far for the production of decorative surface elements on silicatic surfaces.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a coating composition which contains metal particles, in particular nano-sized metal particles, preferably noble metal particles, which allows the application of the coating composition in a simple way by means of a broad range of printing or coating processes and leads in a one-step process to the production of highly decorative glossy metal elements on silicatic substrates which are mechanically stable, scratch resistant as well as corrosion resistant. The application of nano-sized silver particles as the sole metal particles should be possible, thereby avoiding the disadvantage of corrosion. A further object of the present invention is to show how such coating compositions may be used. An additional object of the present invention is to provide glossy, attractive decorative coatings on silicatic surfaces and a process for the production thereof.

The object of the present invention is solved by a coating composition, comprising

A) 5 to 40 % by weight of metal particles exhibiting a dso value in the range of from 30 to 300 nm, the dso value measured by the volume related laser diffraction method, wherein the metal particles are selected from the group consisting of Ag, Au, Ru, Ir, Pd, Pt, Cu, Nb, or of an alloy containing at least one of these,

B) 1 to 30 % by weight of an organic compound of one or more

elements selected from the group consisting of Si, Ge, Nb, Sn, Zn,

Zr, Ti, Sb, Al, Bi, alkali metal or alkaline earth metal, with the proviso that at least an oxygen or nitrogen containing organic compound of Si is present,

C) 5 to 25 % by weight of a binder containing at least one compound selected from the group of polyvinylacetales,

D) 10 to 70 % by weight of a solvent,

E) 0 to 10 % by weight of a rheology modifying additive, and

F) 0 to 5 % by weight of at least one metal salt compound, wherein the metal is selected from the group consisting of Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Au, Rh, Ru, Ir, Os and Pt , based on the weight of the coating composition which adds to 100%.

The object of the present invention is also solved by the use of the above described coating composition for the manufacture of metallic, gold or silver colored decorative elements on articles exhibiting a surface of porcelain, china, bone china, ceramic, glass or enamel.

In addition, the object of the present invention is solved by a metal particles containing solid coating on a substrate, comprising, based on the weight of the solid coating, at least 60 % by weight of metal particles of at least one metal, selected from the group consisting of Ag, Au, Ru, Ir, Pd, Pt, Cu, Nb, or of an alloy containing at least one of these, and comprising at least 5% by weight, based on the weight of the solid coating, of a glass matrix consisting of S1O2 or of a glass matrix comprising S1O2 and at least one of alkali metal oxide, alkaline earth metal oxide, GeO2, Nb2O3, SnO, SnO2, ZnO, ZrO ₂ , TiO ₂ , AI2O3, Bi ₂ O ₃ and Sb ₂ O ₃ .

Still furthermore, the object of the present invention is solved by a process for the production of a metal containing solid coating on a substrate, whereby a metal particles containing coating composition as described above is applied onto a substrate and is subsequently thermally treated at a temperature in the range of from 500 °C bis 1250 °C. The coating composition according to the present invention contains as ingredient A) 5 to 40% by weight, in particular 20 to 30% by weight, based on the total weight of the coating composition, of nano-sized metal particles exhibiting a dso value in the range of from 30 to 300 nm, preferably in the range of from 150 to 300 nm, whereby the dso value is measured by the volume related laser diffraction method according to ISO 13320:2009.

The nano-sized metal particles are selected from the group consisting of Ag, Au, Ru, Ir, Pd, Pt, Cu, Nb, or of an alloy containing at least one of these. They may be contained in the coating composition alone (only one kind of metal particles) or as a mixture of two or more thereof.

Preferably, the nano-sized metal particles are noble metal particles selected from the group consisting of Ag, Au, Ru, Ir, Pd, Pt, or of an alloy containing at least one of these. Most preferred, the nano-particles are of silver or of a silver alloy containing at least 50% by weight, based on the total weight of the alloy, of silver. It is a great advantage of the present invention that coating compositions which contain merely silver nano-sized particles and no further metal particles are corrosion resistant for a time period of several months and may be used for the production of glossy silver colored decorative elements on silicatic surfaces which remain corrosion resistant too.

In addition to the nano-sized metal particles, the coating composition of the present invention does also contain as ingredient B) 1 to 30% by weight, in particular 1 -15% by weight, based on the total weight of the coating composition, of an organic compound of one or more elements selected from the group consisting of Si, Ge, Nb, Sn, Zn, Zr, Ti, Sb, Al, Bi, alkali metal and alkaline earth metal, with the proviso that at least an oxygen or nitrogen containing organic compound of Si is present. The respective compounds act as glass former in the resulting solid coating on a substrate, since they decompose upon thermal treatment to the corresponding metal oxides. The main component of ingredient B) is the oxygen or nitrogen containing silicon compound which has to be present. It may be contained in the coating composition of the present invention as sole organic compound out of the organic metal compounds of ingredient B) mentioned above, but may also be present in combination with one or more of the organic compounds mentioned besides organic Si-compounds. The oxygen or nitrogen containing organic Si-compound forms a Si-O-based network upon thermal decomposition thereof in an oxygen containing atmosphere. In order to be useful for the present purpose, the corresponding oxygen or nitrogen containing organic Si-compounds must not evaporate prior to

decomposition thereof. In addition, it has turned out that alkoxy silanes, although containing Si and oxygen, are not useful for the present purpose, since they easily undergo hydrolysis in case that traces of water might not be avoided in the coating composition. Therefore, it turned out that polysilazane compounds, polysiloxane compounds and silicone resins of general formula 1 , formula 2 or formula 3 are the best choice for the oxygen or nitrogen containing organic silicon compound B).

Formula 1

Formula 2

R ²

Formula 3

whereas

R ¹ is a radical selected from the group consisting of H, Ci- Cie alkyl, Cs- C6- cydoalkyi, substituted or non-substituted phenyl, OH, OCi- Cie alkyl, NH ₂ and N(Ci- Cie alkyl) ₂ ;

R ² , R ³ and R ⁵ is, independently from each other, a radical selected from the group consisting of H, Ci- Cie alkyl, OH, OCi- Cie alkyl, NH ₂ , N(Ci- Cie alkyl) ₂ , OSi(R ¹ ) ₃ and N=SiR ¹ ;

R ⁴ is a radical selected from the group consisting of H, Ci- Cie alkyl, Cs- C6- cydoalkyi and phenyl;

X is a radical of O or N; and m and n is, independently from each other, an integer selected from the numbers in the range of from 1 to 100, with the proviso that the boiling point of each of the materials is exceeding 150° C.

For example, Durazan 1066 (CAS-No. 346577-55-7) or

Polydimethylsiloxane (CAS-No. 9016-00-6) may advantageously be used as oxygen or nitrogen containing organic Si-compound B) in the present coating composition.

In addition, silsesquioxane polymers of general formula 4 are

advantageously useful as well: R R ²

-[- Si - Oi.5 -]n-[ - Si - Oi.5 -]m- Formula 4 whereas

R ¹ and R ² are radicals equal or different from each other and are

selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl, alkene, cycloalkyl, aryl, arylene and alkoxyl, and m and n is, independently from each other, an integer selected from the numbers in the range of from 1 to 100, with the proviso that the boiling point of each of the materials is exceeding 150° C.

Furthermore, in addition to the oxygen or nitrogen containing organic Si compound, organic compounds of the elements, selected from the group consisting of Ge, Nb, Sn, Zr, Ti, Sb, Al, Bi, alkali metal and/or alkaline earth metal may also be present in the coating composition of the present invention. These organic compounds may be alcoholates, carboxylates, citrates, acetylacetonates and/or tartrates of the corresponding elements. They are present, if at all, in an amount of from 1 to 30% by weight, based on the total weight of the compounds of ingredient B), in the present coating composition. In particular the content of the organic alkali metal compound and/or of the organic alkaline earth metal compound should not exceed 10% by weight, based on the total weight of the compounds of ingredient B).

Preferably, alcoholates of formula 5 are found suitable:

Met -— 0† Z † R ⁶ Formula 5

P whereas,

Met is selected from the group consisting of Ge, Nb, Sn, Zr, Ti, Sb, Al, Bi, alkali metal and alkaline earth metal;

Z is selected from the group consisting of CO, SO2 and SO3 ,

P is O or l ,

R ⁶ is a radical selected from the group consisting of Ci- C18 alkyl, C5- C6- cycloalkyl and substituted or non-substituted phenyl.

The coating composition according to the present invention does also comprise 5-25% by weight, preferably 5 to 15% by weight, based on the total weight of the coating composition, of a binder.

Unexpectedly, the present inventors did find that binders which contain at least one compound selected from the group of polyvinylacetales serve best for the purpose of providing a coating composition of the present kind which may be advantageously used in several printing and coating processes. The binder determines to a great extent the viscosity of the coating composition during the printing process. Although the coating composition has to be of a viscosity low enough to be printable or coatable in various printing or coating processes, the respective coating or printing layer, once applied, must remain stable on the substrate without distributing beyond the coated surface area. In addition, the binder must burn completely upon thermal treatment of the resulting coating or printing layer in the application field of the present coating composition. The group of polyvinylacatales fulfills these requirements in the present coating composition. Polyvinylacetales are polyvinylformal, polyvinylacetal and polyvinylbutural.

Their characteristics vary with the degree of acetalization thereof.

Polyvinylbutyrales turned out to be the best choice for the present coating composition. Therefore, polyvinylbutyrales are preferably used as binder in the present coating composition. Especially useful are polyvinylbutyrales with an OH content of from 18 to 24% by weight. Polyvinylbutyrales from Kuraray, which are sold under the tradenames Mowital® and Pioloform® may advantageously be used, in particular Mowital® B 45 H and Mowital® B 60 H which have an average molar mass of about 40.000 g/mol and about 55.000 g/mol, respectively, and exhibit a glass transition temperature of about 70°C each, whereby Mowital® B 60 H is preferred. It goes without saying that polyvinylbutyrales of further companies having comparable characteristics are useful as well.

The polyvinylacetale containing binder may contain the polyvinylacetal to at least 50% by weight, based on the total weight of the binder, or may consist of at least one compound selected from the group of polyvinylacetales. Preferably, the binder comprises polyvinylbutyral. In the most preferred embodiment of the present invention, the binder consists of polyvinyl- butyral.

Most preferred, the binder consists of a polyvinylburtyral having an average mol mass in the range of from 30.000 to 60.000 g/mol and an OH content of from 18 to 24% by weight.

The coating composition of the present invention does also contain 10 to 70 %, preferably 40 to 70 %, by weight of a solvent. The solvent is advantageously an organic solvent. Unfortunately, traces of water often may not be avoided in order to achieve at a content which equals nil, although the solvent in the present coating composition would at best contain solely organic solvents. Therefore, the organic solvent used in the present coating composition may contain water in a content of from 0 to at most 10% by weight, based on the weight of the solvent. In case that mixtures of organic solvents are used, which is preferred, each of the organic solvents may have a water content in the range of from 0 to at most 10% by weight, based on the weight of each organic solvent, whereby the maximum amount of water in the solvent mixture does not exceed 10% by weight. For the single organic solvent or the mixture of organic solvents, as the case may be, the water content is preferably from 0 to 5% by weight, more preferably from 0 to 3% by weight, for each single organic solvent used.

In principle, all organic solvents which are capable of dissolving the solid compounds (except the metal particles) and evaporate without residue at the temperature of the thermal treatment of the resulting coating layer on the silicatic substrate may be used in the present coating composition.

Examples are alcohols such as ethanol, isopropanol, hexanol or 2-ethyl- hexanol, ethoxyethanol, methoxyethanol, methoxypropanol and mixtures of at least two thereof. In addition, ethers of polyalcohols are particularly useful, especially tri-propyleneglycol-monomethylether (TPM) and di- propyleneglycol-monomethylether (DPM). Most preferred are 2- ethyl hexanol, tri-propyleneglycol-monomethylether (TPM) and di- propyleneglycol-monomethylether (DPM). All solvents may be used as sole solvent or in a mixture containing several solvents.

Optionally, non-alcohol solvents may also be present in the solvent mixture, for example, but not limited to ethers like dialkylpropyleneglycols, dioxane or THF, aromatic solvents like xylenes, saturated and non-saturated aliphatic hydrocarbons like terpenoic solvents and naphtha, amides like N-ethylpyrrolidone, esters like ethyl benzoate or fatty esters, in an amount of from 1 to up to 40% by weight, based on the weight of the solvent mixture.

By varying the amount of the solvent, the viscosity of the coating

composition according to the present invention may be adapted to a value which is useful and appropriate in the corresponding coating or printing technique. It is a great advantage of the present invention that the coating composition may be used in several coating or printing techniques whereby a concentrated coating composition may be produced which may be diluted up to the requested value by simply adapting the content of the solvent and is , thus, useful for several coating or printing techniques including ink jet printing.

In addition to the necessary ingredients mentioned above, the coating composition of the present invention may also optionally comprise a rheology modifying agent in case that the viscosity of the coating

composition has to be adapted further in a very particular manner. The rheology modifying agent may be contained in an amount of from 0 to 10% by weight, based on the weight of the coating composition. Preferably, an amount of from 0 to 8% by weight, in particular of from 0 to 5% by weight, is used. The rheology modifying agent used in the present coating

composition may be selected from the group consisting of pine oil, castor oil, a fatty acid, a fatty acid derivative and a natural or synthetic wax. Examples for fatty acids are linoleic acid, oleic acid, stearic acid, palmitic acid, myristic acid, lauric acid and capric acid. Derivatives thereof are useful as well. Examples for natural and synthetic waxes are montane waxes of C19 to C30 hydrocarbons, canauba wax, tan waxes, collophonium waxes like abietic acid or rosin, or polyolefin waxes like Ceridust® waxes of Clariant, to name only a few. Still furthermore, the coating composition according to the present invention may also, optionally, contain at least one metal salt compound, wherein the metal salt is selected from the group consisting of Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Au, Rh, Ru, Ir, Os and Pt. The said metal salt compound may be present in an amount of from 0 to 5% by weight, based on the weight of the coating composition, preferably in an amount of from 0 to 3 % by weight, in particular of from 0.1 to 1 .5 % by weight. The metal salt serves for the adaption of the color of the resulting metal layer in the resulting coated product, and/or for facilitating the adherence of the respective coating composition to the substrate in the subsequent coating procedure. It is decomposed under the final thermal treatment of the coating composition on the coated substrate to the corresponding metal oxide and/or metal.

Preferably, organic metal salts are used in the coating composition according to the present invention. Examples are resinates, sulforesinates, thiolates, carboxylates and alcoholates. The metal salts are usually used as solution thereof in any of the organic solvents mentioned before.

It goes without saying that that all weight percentages mentioned above, in case they refer to the components A) to F) of the coating composition, refer to the total weight of the coating composition, which adds to 100% by weight. Still furthermore, the coating composition according to the present invention may also contain further additives which are usually used for the production of metallic coatings on silicatic substrates, such as surface active agents, defoaming agents, organic pigments and fillers, further thixotropic agents and the like. In case they are used, the weight percentage of these additives is chosen to such an extent that the sum of components A) to F) and the further additives adds to 100% by weight as well.

The present invention is also directed to a process for the production of the coating composition described above, which is characterized in that the compounds A) to F) are intimately mixed with each other, whereby a ready- to-use coating composition is achieved. Preferably, a solution of the binder is prepared and the other components, preferably mixed with one or more of the solvents, are added successively thereto. If desired or necessary, one or more of the further additives mentioned above may be added as well. The mixing is preferably carried out by a rotor-stator-homogenizer or by a Speedmixer® at ambient temperature. In some cases, deaeration may be of importance, depending on the amount and the kind of the solvent used.

It is a great advantage of the present invention that the process for the production of the coating composition is as simple as possible. The mere mixing of the components is sufficient in order to achieve at a stable coating composition which may be stored in closed containers for at least six months without degradation, decomposition or settling of the solid components. Depending on the content of solvents, rheology modifying agents and/or other thixotropic agents used, the thus prepared coating composition may be used in different coating or printing processes including ink jet printing. Therefore, a concentrated form of the present coating composition may serve the customer for the application thereof in several coating or printing processes, since the content of the solvent may also be adjusted at a later point of time at the customer's site. The present invention is also directed to the use of a coating composition as described above for the manufacture of metallic, gold or silver colored decorative elements on articles exhibiting a silicatic surface, such as of porcelain, china, bone china, ceramic, glass or enamel.

In order to achieve at such metallic elements on silicatic surfaces as mentioned above, the coating composition according to the present invention must be applied to a silicatic surface of an article and

subsequently treated further.

Therefore, the present invention is also directed to a process for the production of a metal containing coating on a substrate, whereby a coating composition composed as described above is applied onto the substrate and is subsequently treated at a temperature in the range of from 500 °C to 1250 °C. The treatment is executed in an oxygen containing atmosphere.

The substrate having the said silicatic surface is, according to the present invention, an article exhibiting a surface of porcelain, china, bone china, ceramic, glass or enamel. The kind of the article is not limited per se. In principle, all articles which may be enriched in decor or function by having a metallic layer of the metals mentioned as compound A) of the present coating composition on their surface may be used. Examples are tiles, architectural elements, glasses and china for household or professional application, and the like.

The coating composition may be applied onto the surface of the substrate either directly or by means of a transfer medium. Direct application can take place by any process which is known to the skilled person in the field. The application of the coating composition onto the substrate can take place by dipping the substrate into the coating composition or by any coating or printing process, such as curtain coating, roller coating, spin coating, impregnation, pouring, dripping-on, squirting, spraying-on, doctor blade coating, painting or printing, whereby the printing may be an ink jet printing, screen printing, gravure printing, offset printing or pad printing process and the painting process is a pencil painting, brush painting or the like process.

The coating process is chosen dependent on the kind of substrate and the size and kind of coating which is to be applied onto the substrate. It goes without saying that the viscosity of the coating composition has to be adapted due to the required coating technique. Since the viscosity of the present coating composition is variably adjustable in most cases simply by altering the amount of the respective solvent(s), a concentrated coating composition according to the present invention may be used as base composition for use in more than one application technique.

Preferred printing processes are screen printing, gravure printing, pad printing and ink jet printing. Painting by means of a brush or pencil is also advantageously useful.

The application of the coating composition onto the substrate may also take place by an indirect process, i.e. by applying the coating composition onto a transfer medium in a first step, whereby in a second step the coating composition is applied to the substrate by means of the transfer medium which is pre-coated with the coating composition according to the present invention. The transfer medium may be composed of a polymer or paper carrier, e.g. in form of a decalcomania, which is pre-coated with the present coating composition and dried. The coating composition is then applied to the substrate by positioning the pre-coated carrier on the substrate and removing the polymer or paper carrier. The thermal treatment is executed in this case after application of the coating composition on the substrate, not after application of the coating composition on the polymer or paper carrier. The substrate can have any shape which allows the application of the coating composition to the substrate. Flat substrates such as films, plates and sheets are as useful as three-dimensional substrates of any shape like a sphere or a cone, or any other useful three-dimensional shape. The substrate may be a compact or a hollow body having an outer and/or inner silicatic surface of porcelain, china, bone china, ceramic, glass or enamel which is to be covered by the coating composition of the present invention. The silicatic surface of the substrate contains preferably at least one continuous area onto which the coating composition may be applied. The shape of the area covered by the coating composition may be any appropriate shape in form of regular or irregular patterns, lines, geometric shapes such as circles, squares, rectangles and the like, photographs, logos, bar codes, etc. Size and shape of the substrate area covered by the coating composition is limited merely by the kind of the coating or printing process used and/or by the geometrical shape of the substrate itself. The present coating process allows the manufacturing of patterns having very fine line diameters on the substrate.

The size of the coated area is in the range of from 0.5 mm ² to 10 m ² , in particular from 10 mm ² to 5 m ² , and most preferred in the range of from 100 mm ² to 1 m ² . Line diameters of from 0.01 mm to 10 cm, in particular of from 0.1 mm to 1 cm, are possible as well.

When the coating process according to the present invention is

accomplished, a solid coating layer on the substrate is achieved, wherein the coating layer contains a continuous compact metallic layer comprising the nano-sized metal particles mentioned under component A) of the coating composition, whereby the nano-sized metal particles are at least partly enveloped by a glassy matrix. This metallic layer is covered by a glassy top coat. The glassy matrix as well as the glassy top coat contain metal oxides of the metals mentioned under components B) and, optionally, metals or metal oxides of the metals mentioned under components F) of the coating composition. At least, the glassy matrix and the glassy top coat contain a network made of silicon and oxygen atoms. Residual nitrogen atoms may be present as well. The top coat protects the metallic layer and prevents corrosion and/or mechanical or chemical decomposition thereof, whereas the matrix enveloping the metal particles enables the adherence of the nano-sized metal particles to the substrate. Although the coating composition according to the present invention, being applied to the substrate and after execution of the thermal treatment, automatically includes a top coat which protects the metallic layer as explained above, it might be desired or of advantage to cover the resulting solid coating layer by one or more further protective layers. Therefore, the present process does also optionally include a process step wherein the metal particles containing coating composition may be further partly or fully covered with an additional protective layer. This process step may be executed prior to the thermal treatment of the then resulting layer stack or even after the execution of the thermal treatment of the metal particles containing coating composition on the substrate.

The present invention is also directed to a metal particles containing solid coating on a substrate, comprising, based on the weight of the solid coating, at least 60 % by weight of metal particles of at least one metal, selected from the group consisting of Ag, Au, Ru, Ir, Pd, Pt, Cu, Nb, or of an alloy containing at least one of these, and comprising at least 5% by weight, based on the weight of the solid coating, of a glass matrix either consisting of SiO ₂ , or comprising SiO ₂ and at least one of alkali metal oxides, alkaline earth metal oxides, GeO ₂ , Nb ₂ O ₃ , SnO, SnO ₂ , ZnO, ZrO ₂ , TiO ₂ , AI ₂ O ₃ , Bi ₂ O ₃ and Sb ₂ O ₃ .

The metal particles are the nano-sized metal particles of component A) as already described above with respect to the coating composition. The content of the glass matrix is preferably in the range of from 5 to 40 % by weight, in particular of from 5 to 20% by weight, based on the weight of the solid coating. Thus, the content of the metal particles in the metal particles containing solid coating on the substrate is preferably at least

80%, i.e. in the range of from 80 to 95 % by weight of the total weight of the solid coating.

It is of advantage if the glass matrix contains alkali metal oxides and/or alkaline earth metal oxides up to a percentage of at most 5% by weight, based on the weight of the solid coating on the substrate, because alkali metal oxides and/or alkaline earth metal oxides in such a low concentration may improve the mechanical characteristics of the resulting coating with respect to scratch resistance and durability in long-term exposure to steam.

If present, the decomposition products of the metal salt(s) according to component F) of the coating composition count on the glass matrix content rather than counting on the metal particles content. Therefore, the glass matrix may also additionally contain one or more metals or metal oxides, the metal selected from the group Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Au, Rh, Ru, Ir, Os and Pt.

Preferably, the glass matrix contains metals or metal oxides of Cu, Au, Rh and/or Ru, derived from the components of compound F). In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the metal particles in the metal particles containing solid coating on the substrate are composed of one or more noble metals selected from the group consisting of Ag, Au, Ru, Ir, Pd, Pt, or of an alloy containing at least one of these. Most preferred is the embodiment, wherein the metal particles containing solid coating on a substrate merely contains metal particles of silver or of a silver containing alloy having a silver content of at least 50% by weight, based on the weight of the alloy.

As already explained above to some extent, the metal particles containing solid coating on a substrate is composed of two layers lying on top of each other, whereby a first layer is located directly on the substrate and constitutes a densely packed metallic layer comprising aggregated metal particles exhibiting a dso value in the range of from 50 to 300 nm, the dso value measured by the volume related laser diffraction method, wherein the metal particles are selected from the group consisting of Ag, Au, Ru, Ir, Pd, Pt, Cu, Nb, or of an alloy containing at least one of these, and wherein the second layer is located on top of the first layer and is a glass-like layer comprising at least S1O2. The densely packed metallic layer constitutes a continuous layer wherein the metal particles are still recognizable as particles exhibiting a dso value in the range of from 50 to 300 nm, but are aggregated and partly fused together and are, at least partly, enveloped by a glassy matrix which is composed of the same ingredients as the glass-like layer on top of the metallic layer.

A protective layer which has a glass-like structure and is either composed of a glass-matrix comprising S1O2 alone or is composed of a glass matrix comprising S1O2 in combination with one or more metal oxides selected from the group of alkali metal oxides, alkaline earth metal oxides, GeO2,

Nb ₂ O ₃ , SnO, SnO ₂ , ZnO, ZrO ₂ , TiO2, AI2O3, Bi ₂ O ₃ and Sb ₂ O ₃ , is located on top of the metallic layer. The protective layer may also contain the decomposition products of component F), if present, that is to say one or more metals or metal oxides of metals selected from the group of Co, Ni, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Au, Rh, Ru, Ir, Os, and Pt. In a most preferred embodiment of the invention, the solid coating on the substrate, according to the present invention, is composed of a metallic layer which comprises particles of silver or of an alloy having a silver content of at least 50% by weight, based on the weight of the alloy, exhibiting a dso value in the range of from 50 to 300 nm as described above, which is located directly on the substrate, and of a glass-like layer on top of the metallic layer containing S1O2 and rhodium. The amount of the metal (i.e. Ag or Ag alloy) is at least 85% by weight, the amount of S1O2 at least 3% by weight and the amount of rhodium at most 0.5 % by weight, based on the weight of the coating which adds to 100%.

The glass-like layer as described above covers the metallic layer and enables the metallic layer to be protected against corrosion and mechanical or chemical decomposition. In addition, it provides a certain scratch resistance to the metallic layer underneath. The protective characteristic of the glass-like layer is strong enough to even prevent silver nano-particles, which are usually prone to strong corrosion, from corroding. Thus, it is, for the first time, possible to use silver nano-sized particles for the production of lustreous silvery decoration on pottery, glasses, tiles and the like with the coating composition according to the present invention.

The substrate whereon the solid coating layer is located is an article exhibiting an outer silicatic surface which is a surface of, for example porcelain, china, bone china, ceramic, glass or enamel. It goes without saying that the whole article may be composed of one of the materials mentioned above, but articles which do merely have a silicatic surface, wherein the body of the article is composed of a different material, shall also be included in the present invention. Of course, the surface of the article as well as the body thereof must withstand the temperature of the thermal treatment which is explained above. Shape and size of the article itself are not limited. The silicatic surface may either be an outer surface or an inner surface of the article (e.g. for hollow articles). The present invention allows the coating of silicatic surfaces of articles in one coating step with a glossy or matte, as the case may be, metallic layer which exhibits a silver or golden colour and is protected against chemical or mechanical decomposition or corrosion. Even the coating composition itself has a long shelf life, i.e. is resistant against corrosion and decomposition for at least six months. The nano-sized metal particles used may be produced prior to use in an appropriate size and do not have to be produced in situ on the surface to be covered, as usual for gold decorations on silicatic surfaces. Since even nano-sized silver particles are stable enough in the present coating composition and in particular protected against corrosion, the use of silver instead of palladium and platinum is possible for the production of silver colored decorations on silicatic articles such as pottery, glasses and tiles for personell or industrial use, leading to an improved cost control in the production of the respective goods.

The present invention shall be explained in detail in the following examples, although it shall not be restricted thereto. Example 1 :

0.361 g of Mowital B 45 H, dissolved in dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether (DPM) (17% solids content, product of Kuraray Europe GmbH, CAS- No. 68648-78-2) are metered into a container equipped with a stirrer. 0.013 g of Durazan 1066 (CAS-No. 346577-55-7), 0.602 g of a paste of silver nano-sized particles (dso of 70 nm, dgo of 1 15 nm, in TPM (50% solids content in tripropylene glycol monomethyl ether) and 0.031 g of rhodium(ll) 2-ethylhexanoat (2% in 2-ethylhexanol) are subsequently added under stirring.

The resulting paste is applied onto a glass plate by means of a brush. The glass plate coated with the coating composition is then fired at a temperature of 580 °C in air. The solvents evaporate and the organic compounds of the coating composition burn without remainings at this temperature. The resulting solid coating layer on the glass plate is composed of a glossy lower metallic layer of silver colour and an upper protective glass-like layer.

The layer is composed of 92.2% by weight of silver, 0.2% by weight of rhodium and 7.6% by weight of S1O2, based on the weight of the layer.

Example 2:

2.4 g of polyvinylbutyral binder (Mowital® B 60 H, product of Kuraray Europe GmbH), dissolved in 17.6 g dipropylene glycol monomethylether, are metered into a container equipped with a stirrer. 1 .0 g of sodium acetate is added and dissolved in the binder solution. 5 g of a

Silsesquioxane polymer preparation (MP 60LAN, product of Merck KGaA), 60 g of a paste of silver nanosized particles (dso of 70 nm, 50 g solids in tripropylene glycol monomethyl ether), 3 g of a rhodium(lll)-2- ethylhexanoate solution (2% in ethylhexanol), and 1 .5 g of bismuth(lll)-2- ethylhexanoate solution (70% in xylene) are subsequently added under stirring.

The resulting paste is applied onto a glass plate by means of a brush. The glass plate coated with the coating composition is then fired at a

temperature of 580 °C in air. The solvents evaporate and the organic compounds of the coating composition burn without remainings at this temperature. The resulting solid coating layer on the glass plate is composed of a glossy lower metallic layer of silver colour and an upper protective glass-like layer.

The layer is composed of 93.3% by weight of silver, 4.1 % by weight of SiO ₂ , 1 .2% by weight of Na ₂ O, 1 .2 % by weight of Bi ₂ O ₃ and 0.2% by weight of rhodium, based on the weight of the layer.