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Summary

A Spanish Research Group has developed a new method to produce a new kind of nanopigments. These nanopigments are very cheap, non-toxic (because they have no heavy metals), biodegrable and stable to heat, ultraviolet radiation, oxygen and other environmental agents. These pigments produce a wide range of colors which are more intense than the currently used. The research group is looking for companies interested in acquiring this technology for its commercial exploitation.

Full description

A hybrid pigment is a controlled mixture between inorganic and organic material. As inorganic material it could be used several kinds of clays for their nanoscopic properties, and as organic material; natural or synthetic colorings (thermochrome, eletrochrome, luminescence, etc.).

The research group has developed a new method to produce nanostructured hybrid pigments with specific optical and colloidal properties according to the production parameters. This method has two stages:

1) Dispersion of, at least, an inorganic material in water.
2) Addition of, at least, an organic coloring solubilized by agitation.

The following parameters might be changed in order to obtain different kinds of nanopigments:

" Inorganic material concentration
" Organic coloring concentration
" pH
" Temperature
" Ionic strength

The optical response of nanopigments changes as a function of the particle size of the inorganic material (or materials) used by the diffusion.

Innovative Aspects

This method makes it possible to produce new, hybrid nanopigments with optical and colloidal properties for tailored applications.

" The production method is very easy. It usually works at room temperature (below 200ºC)
" The pigments produced by this method are very cheap.
" Unlike conventional pigments, these nanopigments are heavy-metals free. Then, the developed colorings are non-toxic and environment friendly.
" These nanopigments provide a wide range of intense colors which are stable to heat, ultraviolet radiation, oxygen and other environmental agents.
" These nanopigments provide a homogeneous coloration of the substrate.

Partner expertise sought:

- Type of partner sought:
Private companies.

- Specific area of activity of the partner:
Production and/ or commercialization of pigments for several industrial sector applications.

- Task to be performed by the partner sought:
Acquire the technology for its commercial exploitation. The research group is also open to other kind of collaboration (For example: R&D new application of this technology in other fields).