Nanotechnology improves ink performance
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Ink is a key factor in printing. The performance of all aspects of ink will affect the quality of printed matter. Improving ink performance plays an important role in improving the printing and copying effect. Nanotechnology is an emerging high-tech technique that transforms material-related properties by directly manipulating and arranging the laws of atomic and molecular motion. Through nanotechnology to improve the performance of various aspects of the ink, especially the use of nano-graphite to improve the conductivity of the ink, thereby improving the printing replication effect has far-reaching significance.
First, the development of ink and its performance
China is the first country to use ink. Before 2000, as one of the material foundations of printing, ink has emerged. Internationally recognized that China is the first country to use ink in ancient civilizations, as early as the Western Han Dynasty (200 BC) I started using ink, which can be used to convey information in a simple way, and some of its functions can be compared with contemporary inks.
In the 15th century, Gutenberg in Germany invented the lead alloy movable type printing, the ink was improved, the lamp black was used as the pigment, the linseed oil was used as the binder, and the ink was uniformly mixed by hand to make the ink at that time. But until the middle of the 19th century, advances in science, especially chemistry, led to the development of coal tar dyes and color science, and ink manufacturers were able to produce a variety of colors with different hue, lightness, and saturation for users based on user needs. Ink production has entered a new stage of development.
There are many types of inks, physical properties are different, some are very thick, very sticky, and some are quite thin. Its composition can be divided into three parts: the liquid component is called a binder; the solid component is a pigment (pigment or dye) and various additives. The printing ink is a paste-like colloid obtained by uniformly dispersing and mixing materials such as color materials, binders, and fillers. The colorant imparts a colorful hue to the print; the binder serves as a carrier for the colorant and also acts as a binder to fix the colorant on the surface of the substrate; the filler imparts appropriate properties to the ink, so that the ink satisfies the printing process of various printing processes. Sex.
For inks, color, body (usually the rheological properties of inks such as consistency, fluidity, etc. are called the body of the ink) and drying properties are the three most important properties of the ink, as well as the development of ink formulations and processes and production. It should be noted when the ink is used; the printed film on the printed product should have certain resistance, so that the printed product has practical use.
Second, the concept of nanometer and its application
"Nano" is the translated name of the English namometer. It is a unit of measurement. One nanometer is one billionth of a meter, and only about 45 atoms are so long. Nanostructures generally refer to tiny structures that are less than 100 nanometers in size. Therefore, nanotechnology is actually a technology that uses single atoms and molecular range materials, which means that people can produce extremely pure materials and rich new products. Nanotechnology can be divided into molecular nanotechnology, microfabrication technology and bio-nanotechnology. Nanotechnology has a wide range of connotations, including the manufacturing technology of nanomaterials, the application of nanomaterials to various fields, the construction of a device in the nanospace to achieve the turning and manipulation of atoms and molecules, and the transfer of matter and energy in the nanodomain. The understanding of new laws and so on. At present, the research and application of nanotechnology is mainly in the field of nano-scale structural materials (ie, nano-materials), and the nano-materials refer to substances whose grain sizes range from 1 to 100 nanometers. Studies have shown that when a material particle enters a nanoscale particle, it has its own characteristics of quantum size effect, small size effect, surface effect and macroscopic quantum tunneling effect. Nanoparticles have a large specific surface area, surface atom number, surface energy, etc., and their surface tension increases sharply with the decrease of particle size, which leads to different thermal, magnetic, optical sensitivity and surface stability of nanoparticles. particle. Since the size of the nanoparticle is close to the wavelength of light and its special effect with a large surface, its characteristics such as melting point, magnetic properties, optical properties, thermal conductivity, and electrical conductivity are exhibited in the overall state of the material. different.
Third, nanotechnology is used in ink
The application of nanomaterials to the ink system will bring huge boost to the ink industry. In 1994, XMX Corporation of Massachusetts, USA, successfully obtained a patent for the manufacture of nano-scale homogeneous particulate materials for inks. Then, XMX was preparing to design a commercial production system, using this patent to select the appropriate volume of nano-powder raw materials to obtain the various pigments of the ink, instead of relying on the chemical pigments required by the old traditional inks. According to another report, the nano-scale transparent iron oxide series pigments that have recently been rated as national key new products by the Ministry of Science and Technology have also been successfully developed. The material has typical acicular particles with a major axis of 45 nm and a short axis of 6-7 nm. It has good dispersibility, crystallinity and weather resistance, high brightness and strong tinting strength. Its successful development has great significance for the upgrading of traditional pigments in China, especially for the production of nano-inks, and the quality of inks is greatly improved. At present, the use of nano-graphite in inks, improving the conductivity of inks, making conductive inks, making large-capacity integrated circuits, modern contact panel switches, etc., will have great potential for development.
1. Nano graphite is used in ink
1.1 nanometer graphite properties.
Carbon is one of the most closely related and most important elements in nature. It has various electron orbital properties (sp, sp2, sp3 hybridization), and the anisotropy of sp2 leads to the crystal The anisotropy of the opposite sex and its arrangement, so the carbon material having the carbon as the only constituent element has various properties, and the new carbon phase and the novel carbon material are continuously discovered and artificially produced. Due to the surface effects, small size effects, quantum effects and macroscopic quantum tunneling effects of nano-graphite, nano-graphite materials have superior physical chemistry and surface and interface properties compared with conventional bulk graphite materials. Graphite has been made into ultrafine nanoparticles and has attracted a lot of interest in its application.
It has been reported that carbon will be included in ferromagnetic elements, but the roots of carbon magnetics remain to be explored. Nano-monolayer graphite exhibits diverse and unique magnetic properties due to its special electronic structure. It is an interesting molecular-based microscopic magnetic system. Theoretical studies have shown that the special magnetic properties of the nano-graphite layer are due to the existence of the 7c bond in its boundary, and the state of the suspended π bond largely depends on the size and boundary shape of the nano-monolayer graphite. Unexpected anomalous magnetic properties were observed in many different nanoscale bulk graphite structures. These evidences suggest that graphite structures may be a potential magnetic structure if the proper size and structure can be produced. The structure and boundaries of nanographite strongly influence its physical properties. XIeiIl studied the zigzag boundary and observed a special phenomenon of non-bonded surfaces, whose severe boundary degradation may lead to magnetic instability caused by the graphite structure.
Nano-graphite not only has the traditional excellent properties of graphite, but also has the unique effect of nanoparticles. It has a wide range of applications in high-tech fields. In the field of printing, nano-graphite is added into ink to make conductive ink.
1.2Preparation of 2 nanometer graphite.
Nano-graphite refers to graphite or graphite sheets of nanometer size. The structure is polyhedral, and each surface has 3-6 layers of graphite sheets of 7-8 nm size. The nanographite structure prepared at present has mainly nanometer graphite. Sheet, nano-graphite crystal, nano-graphite powder, nano-graphite cone, nano-graphite sol, etc. The more mature preparation methods include explosion, ultrasonic, high energy ball milling, pulsed laser liquid deposition, and electrochemical methods.
1.3 nanometer graphite modified ink properties.
The nano-scale carbon ink has electrical conductivity and has a good shielding effect against static electricity, preventing the electrical signal from being interfered by external static electricity. If it is added to the ink, it can be made into conductive ink, such as large-capacity integrated circuit, modern contact panel switch, etc. . Studies have shown that after chemical modification of the surface of nano-semiconductor particles, the medium surrounding the particles can strongly affect its optical properties, which is characterized by red-shift or blue-shift of the absorption spectrum. The experiment proves that the light absorption light wave of the chromic oxide nano-powder has a significant blue shift, and the TiO2 nano-powder absorbs light waves with a large red shift. Accordingly, if they are separately added to the yellow ink and the cyan ink to form a nano ink, the purity of the yellow ink and the cyan ink can be largely increased. The use of nano-inks with specific nano-powders to reproduce printed color prints can enrich the prints and make the tone more vivid, greatly enhancing the ability to express image details, and thus obtaining high-quality prints. Based on the various properties of nanomaterials, applying it to the ink system will bring a huge boost to the ink industry.
2. Nano calcium carbonate is used for ink filling materials
The nanometer calcium carbonate has a particle diameter of 2 to 10 nm, and the colloidal calcium carbonate used in the ink is first precipitated by calcium hydroxide and calcium carbonate, and is surface-modified to obtain calcium carbonate having good transparency and gloss. It is used in the manufacture of inks with good printability. After being ground with a certain proportion of varnish, it is used for ink production with suitable fluidity, gloss, transparency, and no gray. According to the ink production process (preparation → batching → stirring → rolling research → inspection → canning), in the ink production, the better the pigment dispersion, the smaller the average particle size, the easier it is to disperse evenly in the binder, the better the ink quality. Calcium carbonate, which is a body pigment in the ink, has a great effect on the production of ink and the improvement of the quality of the ink if it reaches the nanometer level and is surface-modified to have good compatibility with the binder. . Therefore, nano-scale calcium carbonate is used as a filler in ink manufacturing. Different types of ink nanometer calcium carbonate are added in different amounts, generally 296#17% for offset printing ink, 6% for gravure printing ink, 12% for gravure paper ink, and 6.5% to 7% for screen printing hard plastic board. High-grade ink filler 206# is an ultra-fine calcium carbonate.
3. Nano titanium dioxide is used in ink
In addition to the physical and chemical properties of conventional titanium dioxide, nano-titanium dioxide has the following characteristics: 1 Since its particles are much smaller than half the wavelength of visible light, it has almost no hiding power and is transparent. And the ability to absorb and shield ultraviolet light is very high. 2 chemical stability and thermal stability, completely non-toxic, non-migratory. 3 Ink made of nanometer titanium dioxide as a filler and resin, its ink film and plastic film can display pleasing pearlescent and realistic ceramic texture, and have all the optical properties of mica titanium pearlescent pigment, such as pearlescent effect, viewing angle flash Effects, color shift effects, and additional color effects. And the color of the nano titanium dioxide changes with the size of the particle size, and the smaller the particle size, the deeper the color. In the actual verification of pigment nanocrystallization, the color of the nanopigment is far darker than that of the submicron pigment. The main reason is that the particles of the material are large, and the light will break through the light, so the light scatters light, and a small part of the light Then penetrate the past. The nano-pigment has a small diameter, weak light scattering, a small spectral absorption area, and a light reflectance of less than 1%, so that the appearance of the color is significantly deeper than that of the sub-micron pigment. For this reason, an ink or a coating of various colors of nano titanium dioxide having an appropriate volume and uniform particle diameter can be selected instead of the conventional chemical pigment color matching process. The application range of nano pigments is quite extensive. Examples of life such as inkjet ink, paint, ink, photoelectric display, etc., in the manufacturing process of the product, adding a small proportion of nano pigments such as 3% to 5% can improve the ink shielding rate. Problems such as saturation, light resistance, and water resistance. The use of nanopowders has revolutionized the ink industry with pigments. Instead of relying on chemical pigments, it chooses the right amount of nanopowder to present different colors. Because some substances are in the nanometer order, the particle size is different in color, or different substances are different colors, such as titanium dioxide, silicon dioxide is white in the nanoparticles, chromium oxide is green, and ferric oxide is brown. In addition, inorganic nano-materials such as nano-aluminum oxychloride have good fluidity, and if added to the ink, the wear resistance of the ink film can be greatly improved.
4. Nano metal particles are used in ink
Since the absorption of light waves by nano metal particles is different from that of ordinary materials, the nano metal particles can completely absorb light waves and make themselves appear black. At the same time, in addition to the total absorption of light, the nano metal particles have a scattering effect on light. Therefore, by utilizing these characteristics of the nano metal particles, the nano metal particles can be added to the black ink to produce a nano black ink, which can greatly improve the purity and density of the black ink. In addition, semiconductor nanoparticles exhibit significant properties due to their significant quantum size effects and surface effects. We know that the quality of printed matter, especially high-grade color prints, has a lot to do with the fineness and purity of the ink. Only fine-grained, high-purity inks can print high-quality prints. Therefore, improving ink purity and fineness is also an important part of researching new inks. The fineness of the ink refers to the size of the particles of the pigment (including the filler) in the ink and the uniformity of the pigment and the filler distributed in the binder. It not only relates to the quality of the printed products, but also affects the printing durability of the printing plates. The practice of the process shows that the color printing products use the relief printing or the solid layout to contain fine negative characters and negative lines. The printing process is prone to the dirty quality of the paste. On the surface, it may be considered that the ink consistency is not suitable and the viscosity is too large. , the amount of ink is too large or too much pressure. In fact, the real reason is that the particles of the ink are too coarse, and the fineness of the ink is directly related to the nature of the pigment, the filler and the size of the particles. In general, inks made with inorganic pigments (excluding carbon black) have poorer fineness and coarser particles, which is closely related to the ink rolling process. The more times the ink is ground during the rolling process, the more uniform it is. The larger the contact surface of the pigment particles with the binder, the finer the particles of the ink, and the better the printing performance is. Obviously, the fineness of the ink is closely related to the quality of the printed matter. For example, in the case of a printed embossed plate, there are many 1-4 mesh points for high-profile and mid-tone on the plate, if the ratio of ink particles to the area of the dots is closer. In this case, it is easy to make the outlets empty or spread, and even the printing defects of the point is not smooth, so the finer the ink, the more clear and full the dots on the printed matter.
Fourth, the application and trend of nanotechnology in improving ink performance
Nowadays, with the help of high technology, various components in the ink (such as resin, pigment, filler, etc.) can be made into nano-scale raw materials, so that they can achieve better flow due to their high degree of fineness and good flow and lubricity. Dispersion suspension and stability, low pigment usage, high hiding power, good gloss, fine resin particle size, continuous film formation, uniform smoothness, thin film layer, clear printed image, if used in UV ink, may lead to faster The curing speed, while at the same time eliminating the shrinkage of the ink film due to the fine uniform dispersion of the filler. In the glass-ceramic ink, if the inorganic material is composed of nano-scale fineness, it will save a lot of raw materials and print a finer, more beautiful and higher quality image. In addition, in the conductive ink, if Ag is made into nanometer instead of micron Ag, 50% of Ag powder can be saved. This conductive ink can be directly printed on ceramics and metal. The ink film is thin and uniform and smooth, and the performance is very good. it is good. If the Cu and Ni materials are made of ultrafine particles of 0.1 to 1 um, it can be used to replace the precious metals such as palladium and silver. Therefore, combining nanotechnology with anti-counterfeiting technology will open up another vast world of anti-counterfeiting inks. Some nano-powders have their own luminescent groups and may emit light by themselves. These new nano-luminescent materials can emit light for more than 12 to 24 hours in the dark after a few minutes of illumination. The luminous intensity and maintenance time are traditional fluorescent materials. More than 30 times, and the material itself is non-toxic, harmless, free of any radioactive elements, excellent in stability and weather resistance, and can be recycled indefinitely. The printed matter printed with the ink added with such nano-powder does not need the illumination of the external light source, and can be recognized by the human eye by self-illumination, and can also achieve a good first-line anti-counterfeiting effect for anti-counterfeiting printing; Advertising prints or nighttime readings of graphic prints eliminate the need for external light sources, which not only saves energy, but also greatly facilitates users.
In addition, since the nano-powders have good surface wettability, they are adsorbed on the surface of the pigment particles in the ink, which can greatly improve the lipophilicity and wettability of the ink, and can ensure the stability of the entire ink dispersion system, so The printing performance of the nano-powder nano ink is greatly improved. It is believed that with the further development of nanomaterial technology, more nanomaterials with different characteristics will be recognized and utilized. These nanomaterials can be applied to ink manufacturing to obtain special inks with different uses. Confidential document printing, a variety of anti-counterfeiting printing and printing of various handicrafts can achieve extraordinary results.