The inverse opal zirconia pigments were prepared by template method using polystyrene microspheres with the size of 340 ± 10 nm as raw material and the in situ carbon was formed to achieve controllable and adjustable color saturation by sintering at various temperatures in nitrogen atmosphere with various nitrogen flow rates. The effects of nitrogen atmosphere, nitrogen flow rate and sintering temperature on the morphology, phase and color saturation of the inverse opal zirconia were investigated. The results showed that when the inverse opal zirconia was sintered at 450 ^oC to 600 ^oC in nitrogen atmosphere, the green color saturation could be adjusted by changing the nitrogen flow rate from 0.2 L/min to 0.8 L/min. When the nitrogen rate was 0.8L/min, the green color saturation of the inverse opal zirconia could be adjusted by changing the sintering temperature from 450 ^oC to 600 ^oC. It indicated that the more the amount of in-situ carbon was generated, the more stray light was absorbed and the higher green color saturation of the inverse opal zirconia could be obtained. Further increasing the sintering temperature to 700 ^oC would destroy the inverse opal morphology of zirconia and affect the carbonization of the organic component

Keywords: inverse opal, color saturation, carbonization, zirconia, controlled