Synthesis and characterization of novel yellow-green Al-doped Y3Fe5O12 nano-pigments with high NIR reflectance

•Novel yellow-green Al-doped Y3Fe5O12 nano-pigments are effectively synthesized via solution combustion method.•The Y3Fe4AlO12 nano-pigments demonstrate the high NIR reflectance of 87.66% and great acid/alkali resistance.•Compared with the similar commercial pigment, 7.6 °C can be reduced by Y3Fe4AlO12 pigment.•The synthetic pigments have potential to be used in cool coatings and to mitigate the urban heat island effect. The pigments with high near-infrared (NIR) reflectance hold great promise toward both fundamental types of researches and applications for the realization of comfortable indoor-temperature by mitigating urban heat island effect. However, the facile yet simple method for the NIR reflective pigments with bright color and non-toxic feature remains a huge challenge, limiting their practical application. Herein, we proposed a mild and universal method of solution combustion for constructing the non-toxic and NIR reflective yellow-green pigments of Al-doped Y3Fe5O12. The Y3Fe4AlO12 pigment presented a high NIR reflectance of 87.66%, and an outstanding acid/alkali resistance. Moreover, the pigment had an impressive color performance (L* = 78.72, a* = − 4.05, b* = 40.04). Besides, the practical near-infrared reflection performance revealed that the transient surface temperature of the Y3Fe4AlO12 pigment was 7.6 °C lower than that of the pigment with similar color on the market. This research supplied high NIR reflecting pigments of Y3Fe5−xAlxO12 as promising coatings for roofs and exterior walls of buildings, acting as a favorable solution for urban heat island effect.