幾個世紀以來發(fā)現(xiàn)的第一個藍色顏料進入了市場

幾個世紀以來發(fā)現(xiàn)的第一個藍色顏料進入了市場

Back in 2009, a bunch of chemists accidentally cooked up a unique and brilliantly blue pigment said to be the first new blue pigment discovered in 200 years. Now, after jumping some regulatory loopholes, the much-loved pigment is now seeing the light of day.

2009年，一群化學家意外地合成了一種獨特而明亮的藍色顏料，據說這是200年來發(fā)現(xiàn)的第一個新的藍色顏料?，F(xiàn)在，在突破了一些監(jiān)管漏洞后，這款備受喜愛的顏料終于問世了。

The pigment — nicknamed YInMn — was fully approved for commercial use under the US Toxic Substances Control Act in May 2020 and is now making its way onto artists’ canvases, Artnet reports. A number of art suppliers have already started producing the pigment, including Kremer Pigmente, Golden Artist Colors, and Shepherd Color, but it’s said to remain extremely expensive and relatively rare. One shop was reported to sell 40 millimeters (less than a shot glass) of the paint for $179.40.

據Artnet報道，這種昵稱為YInMn的顏料在2020年5月被美國《有毒物質控制法》完全批準用于商業(yè)用途，現(xiàn)在正在藝術家的畫布上使用。許多藝術供應商已經開始生產這種顏料，包括Kremer Pigmente、金色藝術家顏料和牧羊人顏料，但據說這種顏料仍然非常昂貴，而且相對稀少。據報道，一家商店以179.40美元的價格出售了40毫米(不到一個烈酒杯)的油漆。

Tom Hale

Crayola announced in May 2017 that it was going to replace its retired “Dandelion” yellow color crayon with a new crayon "inspired by" the color of YInMn, although the crayon didn’t contain the actual pigment.

克雷奧拉公司于2017年5月宣布，該公司將用一款“受茵曼顏色啟發(fā)”的新蠟筆替換已經退役的“蒲公英”黃色蠟筆，盡管這支蠟筆并不含有真正的顏料。

Like all great discoveries, this one was an accident. The pigment was a chance-discovery by scientists led by Mas Subramanian at Oregon State University (OSU) while researching materials for electronics applications. Graduate student Andrew Smith was attempting to create a high-efficiency electronic material by heating manganese oxide to approximately 1200 °C (~2100 °F) when he noticed that a shocking blue compound had emerged in the furnace.

就像所有偉大的發(fā)現(xiàn)一樣，這是一個意外。這種色素是由俄勒岡州立大學(OSU)馬斯·薩勃拉曼尼亞領導的科學家在研究電子應用材料時偶然發(fā)現(xiàn)的。研究生安德魯·史密斯試圖通過將氧化錳加熱到大約1200°C(~2100°F)來創(chuàng)造一種高效電子材料，這時他注意到熔爐中出現(xiàn)了一種令人震驚的藍色化合物。

"Basically, this was an accidental discovery," Subramanian, a Milton Harris professor of materials science in the OSU Department of Chemistry, in a statement in 2009. "Our work had nothing to do with looking for a pigment."

“基本上，這是一個偶然的發(fā)現(xiàn)，”蘇州立大學化學系米爾頓·哈里斯材料科學教授薩勃拉曼尼亞在2009年的一份聲明中說。“我們的工作與尋找顏料無關。”

The pigment was named YInMn Blue after its main chemical constituents: Yttrium, Indium, and Manganese. You can read a detailed study about the creation of the pigment in the journal Inorganic Chemistry in 2015, but those who don’t have a deep knowledge of chemistry might be wondering what the big deal is.

這種色素因其主要化學成分釔、銦和錳而被命名為陰藍。你可以在2015年的《無機化學》雜志上讀到關于這種色素產生的詳細研究，但那些對化學沒有深入了解的人可能會想知道這有什么大不了的。

It appears the art world likes the pigment because of the vivid and vibrant color, but YInMn is also a very stable compound that doesn't react when heated, cooled, or mixed with water or acid, making it a desirable choice of material. Many other famous inorganic blue pigments have their fair share of troubles — cobalt blue can be carcinogenic, while Prussian blue can release cyanide — but YInMn appears to be relatively safe and environmentally benign.

似乎藝術界喜歡這種顏料是因為它生動活潑的顏色，但銀錳也是一種非常穩(wěn)定的化合物，在加熱、冷卻或與水或酸混合時不會發(fā)生反應，這使它成為理想的材料選擇。許多其他著名的無機藍色顏料也有它們的麻煩——鈷藍可能致癌，而普魯士藍可以釋放氰化物——但銀藍似乎相對安全，對環(huán)境無害。

"Ever since the early Egyptians developed some of the first blue pigments, the pigment industry has been struggling to address problems with safety, toxicity and durability," added Subramanian.

薩勃拉曼尼亞補充說:“自從早期埃及人開發(fā)出一些最早的藍色顏料以來，顏料工業(yè)一直在努力解決安全、毒性和耐久性等問題。”

The story doesn’t end there, however. Subramanian and his team have since designed other durable colors - including yellow, orange, green, and purple - by tweaking the chemistry used to create YInMn. He even managed to secure a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation in April 2020 to find inorganic red pigment that's vivid, safe, and durable.

然而，故事并沒有就此結束。薩勃拉曼尼亞和他的團隊已經設計出了其他耐久的顏色——包括黃色、橙色、綠色和紫色——通過調整用來制造銀的化學物質。他甚至在2020年4月設法從國家科學基金會獲得了20萬美元的撥款，以尋找生動、安全、持久的無機紅色顏料。