What Is Inorganic Pigment
Due to the economy and excellent color fastness properties of inorganic pigments, pigment yellow 14 manufacturer says that inorganic pigments are the most commonly used in the industry, favored for their lightfastness and low cost.
What are inorganic pigments? Inorganic pigments are not based on carbon chains and rings, they are composed of dry milled minerals, derived from natural minerals or ores. With a few exceptions, inorganic pigments are combinations of mineral elements with oxides and other elements (most commonly sulfur, silicon, or carbon), usually metal oxides, oxide hydroxides, sulfides, silicates, sulfates, or carbonates. Because of their composition, inorganic pigments are usually less intense than organic pigments, more opaque and less soluble, and not as rich and pure as organic pigments.
Typically, inorganic pigments are the most commonly used type of pigment in industry due to their lightfastness and low cost. In addition inorganic pigments show excellent resistance to fading, in other words they resist fading when exposed to light, air and heat. Since the chemical reactions required for the production of inorganic pigments are relatively simple, the cost of producing these pigments in large quantities is low. However, there are some disadvantages to using inorganic pigments. For example, poor hue means that these pigments tend to produce normally dull colors, which we can enhance by mixing them with organic pigments.
Previously, inorganic pigments were naturally occurring colored chemicals. Natural inorganic pigments are among the oldest pigments used by humans; they first appeared in funerary preparations of human remains 60,000 years ago and in colorful cave art about 20,000 years ago. Many inorganic pigments were mined from surface deposits of clay and rock in prehistoric times and have shown remarkable durability over a long period of time.
Some of these heavy metal pigments are no longer used due to new environmental laws that are very strict on toxicity. In addition, due to their lead salt content, inorganic pigments are toxic and more harmful to the environment than other pigment types. However, surviving inorganic pigments fill the dual role of fillers, providing greater benefits than formulating simple coloring; they also affect the physical properties of the paint or coating film during application and throughout the product life cycle. In general, inorganic pigments are the most commonly used in industry, favored for their lightfastness and low cost, and are widely used in paints and coatings.