Pigments / Dyes
Everyday we open up eyes to see colorful objects around us. The elements and substancesthat make everything colorful are, on the one hand, divided into inorganic and organiccolorants according to the chemical structure. On the other hand, the designationpigment or dye is geared toward how the colorant behaves in a particular medium.Therefore, the distinction between pigment and dye is not rigid and a single substancecan be both a pigment and a dye at the same time.
Pigments are made up of particulate matter that is insoluble in its vehicle andtherefore must be finely dispersed in a binding agent. Due to their optical propertiesthey are used as chromophoric substances, for example in paints, printing inks or inkjetinks or, thanks to special technical and chemical properties, as anticorrosive agentsfor example.
Dyes are also inorganic or organic colorants which, in contrast to pigments, arecompletely soluble in their vehicle (water or organic solvents). They are used, forexample, to color textiles (textile dyes), plastics and plastic fibers and aschromophoric substances in food technology, e.g. beta-carotene in soft drinks.
