'MDH', on 07 Oct 2010 - 4:03 PM, said:
It confuses me that you add parlon to these compositions. Is your goal to neutralize the MgO soon after reactions so it does not decompose the BaCl?
The chlorine content in barium chlorate is 23%. That makes it about 20.5% chlorine all in all in the "classic" 9:1 barium chlorate/shellac composition. This is
very deep in colour (although not the deepest; a friend added some organic nitrate to barium chlorate and made it even more green than with shellac!)
But anyway, when you add metal powders for higher emission of light, you also decrease the overall chlorine content in the composition. Therefore I add parlon for more chlorine. As you see there are
four chlorine donors here: the barium chlorate itself, the potassium perchlorate, the parlon and the PVC. All in all >27%, i.e. more than in pure barium chlorate.
I didn't think of neutralizing the MgO, but that's probably a nice side effect to it.