International. The Vision and Color research group of the University of Alicante (Spain), developed and patented a new method to produce hybrid pigments creating a wide range of colors from inorganic and organic materials that interact and link at the nanometer scale.
The university statement says that hybrid pigments are created based on organic and inorganic compounds, that is, that the color is due to an organic compound that is not stable to light, its stabilizer being an inorganic compound, as if it were a lacquer pigment, but without the defect that these pigments present to light: its discoloration.
Professor Francisco Miguel Martínez Verdú, director of the research group and his team of researchers, leads the project with which they produce new colors and advantages in their application, generating materials with novel properties, suitable both in powder format and in dispersion in polar and non-polar media, for various industrial applications among which are printing inks, paints and coatings.
"Unlike conventional pigments, which contain heavy metals in their composition and can cause unwanted effects such as allergic reactions, carcinogenic processes, etc., the hybrid nanopigments we develop are free of this type of compounds, their production requires low energy consumption and the raw materials used are readily available, non-toxic and have excellent heat resistance, ultraviolet radiation, oxygen and other environmental agents, compared to other alternatives of organic dyes", adds Professor Martínez Verdú.
