什麼是顏料

顏料是能使其他材料着色的有強烈色彩的化合物。與染料不同，顏料不能溶解，而是以磨細的固體顆粒形式使用。它們用於塗料、印刷油墨和塑膠中。分為有機的（即含碳）和無機的兩類，但是有機顏料通常比無機顏料更鮮明和耐久。天然顏料已使用了若干世紀，但是今天使用的顏料中大多數是合成的。最重要的白色顏料是二氧化鈦。黑色顏料主要由炭顆粒產生。氧化鐵用來賦予從微黃到橙黃，再到深褐之間的各種褐色。有些鉻化合物用於提供黃、橙和綠色。各種鎘化合物用於顯現明亮的黃、橙、紅。黃或栗色。鐵藍或稱普魯士藍，是主要的無機藍色顏料。有機顏料主要是由芳香烴類合成的。包括偶氮顏料（紅、橙、黃，參閲azo dye）和銅菁顏料（明亮、強烈的藍色和綠色）。葉綠素、胡蘿蔔素、視紫紅質和黑素是用動植物製成的用作特殊用途的顏料。

pigment

Any intensely colored compound used to color other materials. Unlike dyes, pigments do not dissolve; they are applied as fine solid particles mixed with a liquid. In general, the same ones are used in oil- and water-based paints, printing inks, and plastics. They may be inorganic compounds (usually brighter and longer-lasting) or organic compounds. Natural organic pigments have been used for centuries, but today most are synthetic or inorganic. The primary white pigment is titanium dioxide. Carbon black is the most usual black pigment. Iron oxides give browns, ranging from yellowish through orange to dark brown. Chromium compounds yield chrome yellows, oranges, and greens, cadmium compounds brilliant yellows, oranges, and reds. The most common blues, Prussian blue and ultramarine, are also inorganic. Organic pigments, usually synthesized from aromatic hydrocarbons, include the nitrogen-containing azo pigments (red, orange, and yellow; see azo dyes) and the copper phthalocyanines (brilliant, strong blues and greens). Chlorophyll, carotene, rhodopsin, and melanin are pigments produced by plants and animals for specialized purposes.