Inorganic pigments are pigments whose main components are inorganic substances. Almost all inorganic pigments are chemical compounds, often complex mixtures, in which metals are part of the molecule. With the recovery of the global economy, domestic and foreign construction and building materials, coatings, plastics, inks and other industries have experienced rapid growth, and the demand for inorganic pigments has also increased rapidly. With the rapid development of the coating industry, inorganic pigments, one of its main raw materials, have made great progress.
Under the strict environmental protection regulations in many countries, environmentally friendly inorganic pigments that are non-toxic and can replace traditional lead and cadmium pigments have become popular. China is also actively developing environmentally friendly inorganic pigments, which brings hope to downstream industrial applications and promising industry prospects.
Research on the synthesis of new inorganic pigments has been proceeding steadily since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and many established chemical plants began to specialize in the industrial production of inorganic and organic pigments and the technical synthesis of dyes. In addition to expanding the range of colors, chemistry provides a simple and economical way to obtain improved colorants with repeatable quality.
In this way, many new inorganic pigments expanded the range of technically useful colorants during the nineteenth century, including chromium oxide green, cadmium yellow, zinc white, ultramarine blue, iron oxide red, and metallic bronze (Cu/Zn), other synthetic inorganic pigments appeared on the market in the twentieth century: titanium dioxide, cadmium red, iron oxide yellow, iron oxide black, bismuth vanadate and mica-based effect pigments, which, after the appearance of the first synthetic organic pigments in the nineteenth century The scope also expanded greatly in the twentieth century.
The application systems for pigments have also changed and expanded significantly, with automotive and industrial coatings, plastics, modern printing inks and cosmetics, and construction materials becoming the driving force behind the development of new color products. Today, various modern inorganic pigments are available for different applications.
Modern pigments are produced on an industrial scale in ton-level batch processes. Precipitation and solid-state reactions at high temperatures are the main options for producing inorganic pigments. For special pigments, molten salt crystallization, hydrothermal reactions, and gas phases can be used. The synthesis of technical pigments is based on proven chemical processes, resulting in reproducible pigment quality. As a result, users get pigments of the same quality in terms of color and other properties repeatedly. Suppliers and users in coatings, paints, printing inks, plastics and cosmetics are in close contact to constantly coordinate pigment requirements. Quality control is a critical part of the production process. Natural pigments now play a role only in iron oxide pigments (used in building materials).
In 2020, the global pigment market sales reached approximately 12 million tons, of which the white pigment titanium dioxide (rutile and anatase titanium dioxide) is the dominant one. Titanium dioxide pigments account for about 60% of global pigment production, with iron oxide and carbon black pigments ranking second and third in production quantity. More than 90% of all colorants currently in use are inorganic pigments. The annual production of organic pigments is less than 1 million tons. However, organic pigments are also an attractive colorant with broad application prospects.
In general, inorganic colorants have a long history in human civilization. After thousands of years of development, from natural minerals to synthetic inorganic colorants, inorganic colorants have become indispensable and important substances in modern industry and life. Modern inorganic colorants already have more advantages, such as high purity, good stability, resistance to discoloration, resistance to fading, and high gloss. Inorganic colorants are used not only in traditional construction, paint, plastics, printing and dyeing, and other fields. Still, they are also widely used in modern scientific and technological fields, such as electronics, optoelectronics, medical treatment, food, and others.
As people pay more attention to environmental protection, the research on inorganic pigments is also paying more and more attention to environmental protection performance, such as reducing the content of heavy metals, adopting environmentally friendly production processes, and reducing pollution emissions. Therefore, future research on inorganic colorants will pay more attention to environmental protection, safety, and health and at the same time, develop multi-functional, high-value-added, high-quality inorganic colorants to meet people's needs for a higher level of life and production.
TRUNNANO is a globally recognized manufacturer and supplier of compounds with more than 12 years of expertise in the highest quality nanomaterials and other chemicals. The company develops a variety of powder materials and chemicals. Provide OEM service. If you need TiO2 Nanoparticles, please feel free to contact us. You can click on the product to contact us.
