什么是颜料

颜料是能使其他材料着色的有强烈色彩的化合物。与染料不同，颜料不能溶解，而是以磨细的固体颗粒形式使用。它们用於涂料、印刷油墨和塑胶中。分为有机的（即含碳）和无机的两类，但是有机颜料通常比无机颜料更鲜明和耐久。天然颜料已使用了若干世纪，但是今天使用的颜料中大多数是合成的。最重要的白色颜料是二氧化钛。黑色颜料主要由炭颗粒产生。氧化铁用来赋予从微黄到橙黄，再到深褐之间的各种褐色。有些铬化合物用於提供黄、橙和绿色。各种镉化合物用於显现明亮的黄、橙、红。黄或栗色。铁蓝或称普鲁士蓝，是主要的无机蓝色颜料。有机颜料主要是由芳香烃类合成的。包括偶氮颜料（红、橙、黄，参阅azo dye）和铜菁颜料（明亮、强烈的蓝色和绿色）。叶绿素、胡萝卜素、视紫红质和黑素是用动植物制成的用作特殊用途的颜料。

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.