What is it about?
There is a lot of misunderstanding even in the scientific literature about what dyes and pigments are. This article explain the difference between the two and the impact it has on how and where such colorants are used. It also gives an overview of their properties in addition to colour that are of greatest importance. The article also gives on overview of the diverse uses of colorants - not just textiles, but medicine, electronics and many uses where colour is sometimes of secondary importance. Given the wide range of applications to which they are put, colorants vary greatly in composition, origin and economics - and thus ways of classifying them are required by those who make and use them. This survey covers all of these aspects so as to give the newcomer a general technical appreciation of colorants.
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Why is it important?
Colorants are ubiquitous - not only are they inescapable in modern life, but they continue to be key materials behind new technologies under intensive study in the research community.
Perspectives
The technical view of colorants, dyes and pigments differs from that of much of the general public: these words are often used interchangeably iby many people and still unfortunately often in the scientific community too. There is little appreciation of just how much ingenuity has gone into (and continues) to go into the manufacture and use of colorants. This article, by giving a flavour of the complexity and breadth of field of dyes and pigments, attempts to redress the balance in its own small way.
Dr Andrew D Towns
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Colorants: General survey, Physical Sciences Reviews, April 2019, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1515/psr-2019-0008.
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