Pigments are widely used materials in inkjet inks and their surface properties are an important factor in their performance. The aim of this project was to devise methodologies for covalently modifying the surfaces of pigments in order to modulate their properties. This was achieved by activating the surface of pigments with either gamma or plasma irradiation and then covalently grafting polymers onto their surfaces. The four pigments used were: Pigment red 122, Pigment blue 15:3, Pigment yellow 155 and Carbon black, which are already used in Kodak inks. It was demonstrated that dispersability in water or DMF could be greatly improved by grafting polymers onto pigments. After dispersion tests over two weeks, poly(<i>N,N-</i>dimethylacrylamide) was found to be the best polymer to graft onto pigments in order to improve pigment dispersability in water, while polystyrene allowed dispersion of pigments in DMF. Further modifications were attempted by copolymerisation, cross-liking and esterification reactions. The optimised pigments were analysed using filtration, UV/Vis measurement, contact angle and SEM to determine their particle sizes and properties. They were used in basic ink formations, printed onto paper and tested against light and ozone fading.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:661363 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Ronot, Anais |
| Publisher | University of Edinburgh |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/1842/14317 |
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