The present invention provides a thermochromic color-memory composition including (a) an electron-donating color-developing organic compound, (b) an electron-accepting compound, and (c) an ester compound represented by the following formula (1) or (2), as a reaction medium which controls color reaction of the component (a) and the component (b); and a thermochromic color-memory microcapsule pigment encapsulating the thermochromic color-memory composition. ##STR00001##

The disclosure provides a microcapsule type thermochromic pigment and a preparation method and use thereof, and a thermochromic ink and use thereof. The microcapsule type thermochromic pigment provided by the disclosure includes a core material and a wall material wrapping the core material, wherein the core material includes the following components: a leuco dye, a developer and stearic acid 2-[4-(phenylmethoxy)phenyl]ethyl ester, and the wall material is self-emulsifying polyurethane or self-emulsifying epoxy resin.

Improved sensor compositions comprising a dye are provided. The compositions are generally characterized by at least partially immobilizing the dye on polymeric microparticles and dispersing in a dispersion medium. The dye may comprise an oxygen, humidity, carbon dioxide, temperature, or pH-responsive dye. Also provided is a sensor patch comprising a substrate and the sensor composition comprising a dye.

Novel reaction media for electron donating and electron accepting components in colour-change compositions are described. The compound is of formula (I): wherein R.sub.1, and R.sub.2 are selected from a linear or branched alkyl group, alkenyl group, alkoxy group, aryl group and an alkylene aryl group having from 6 to 22 carbon atoms; X.sub.1 and X.sub.2 are selected from —OC(O)—, —CO.sub.2— and O; R.sub.3, R.sub.4 and R.sub.5 are selected from hydrogen and an linear or branched alkyl group, cycloalkyl group, alkenyl group, alkoxy group, aryl and alkylene aryl group; R.sub.6 is selected from hydrogen, R.sub.3, —X.sub.1R.sub.1 and aryl and halogen; Y.sub.1 Y.sub.2 Y.sub.3 and Y.sub.4 are selected from hydrogen, R.sub.3, —OR.sub.3 and halogen; a is 0 to 4; b is 0 or 1; x and y are independently is 0 or 1 provided that where x and y are 0, a is 0 and b is 1 and R.sub.6 is —CO.sub.2R.sub.1; and wherein when a is 0 and b is 1 and R.sub.5 or R.sub.6 is phenyl, R.sub.6 and R.sub.5 respectively are not hydrogen or C.sub.1-7alkyl. The compounds are useful in ink compositions, writing implements containing the compound and medical and industrial applications in which temperature sensitive colour change may be required. ##STR00001##

A device for indicating exposure to a pressure. The device may include a base layer, a plurality of microcapsules, and a coating, with the microcapsules being disposed between the base layer and the coating. The microcapsules contain a indicator material that can be released once the microcapsules burst. The microcapsules then have a compressive bursting strength that is chosen or designed to be less than a selected pressure (e.g., the pressure being that to which a particular article may be exposed during high pressure processing). Thus, when the device is subjected to a pressure greater than the compressive bursting strength, at least some microcapsules burst, the indicator material is released from the microcapsules, and the release of the indicator material can be detected by observation of the device. The device may be a label that is associated (such as by being affixed) to the article being subjected to pressure (or multiple labels being associated (such as by being affixed) to multiple articles. Alternatively, the device may be associated with an article or articles without being affixed thereto.

A composition for a near-infrared light-absorbing film includes a binder, a compound represented by Chemical Formula 1, and a compound represented by Chemical Formula 2, wherein a total amount of the compound represented by Chemical Formula 1 and the compound represented by Chemical Formula 2 ranges from about 2.0 parts by weight to about 2.6 parts by weight based on 100 parts by weight of the binder. A near-infrared light-absorbing film may include a near-infrared light-absorbing layer including a cured product of the composition. A camera device may include the near-infrared light-absorbing film, and an electronic device may include the camera device.

The present invention relates to near-infrared-absorbing dye-based composite particles which exhibit a photothermal effect and/or photoacoustic signal upon photoirradiation, a preparation method thereof, and a use thereof. The near-infrared-absorbing composite particles comprise: a water-insoluble salt of a near-infrared-absorbing dye, which comprises anions of the near-infrared-absorbing dye and metal cations capable of forming a precipitation product with the anions of the near-infrared-absorbing dye; and particles of a polymeric surfactant, in which a water-insoluble salt of the near-infrared-absorbing dye is supported in the hydrophobic part of the polymeric surfactant.

A method for synthesizing a polymer/pigment hybrid latex through sulfur-free and soap-free in-situ reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) emulsion copolymerization includes the following: dispersing a pigment with a reactive emulsifier to prepare a pigment dispersion; synthesizing an amphiphilic sulfur-free ω-vinyl-terminated polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) macromolecular RAFT agent in-situ on a surface of pigment particles through catalytic chain transfer polymerization (CCTP); and adding an acrylate monomer dropwise, allowing in-situ sulfur-free RAFT polymerization on a surface of pigment particles through the RAFT agent, and adjusting a structure and a composition of an encapsulated polymer layer to obtain a series of uniformly encapsulated and stably dispersed polymer/organic pigment hybrid latexes. The new hybrid latex prepared through sulfur-free and soap-free in-situ RAFT emulsion copolymerization has the characteristics of high dispersion stability, high pigment encapsulation efficiency, clear encapsulated polymer layer sequence, controllable structure, etc., which is suitable for surface encapsulation modification of various pigments.

The invention relates to an apparatus for producing a droplet assembly, which apparatus comprises a droplet generator. A process for producing a droplet assembly, using an apparatus comprising a droplet generator is also described. The invention also relates to droplet assemblies comprising a plurality of droplets. Various uses of the droplet assemblies are also described.

The present invention provides an ultraviolet inspection tool having excellent color formability with respect to light having a wavelength of 222 nm even in a case where an irradiation amount of the light having a wavelength of 222 nm is small, an ultraviolet inspection kit, and an ultraviolet inspection method. The ultraviolet inspection tool of the present invention is an ultraviolet inspection tool including an ultraviolet-sensing layer containing a color-forming agent and an acid generator, in which the color-forming agent has at least one selected from the group consisting of a lactone structure, a lactam structure, a sultone structure, a sultine structure, a ring-opened structure of these structures, and an azobenzene structure, a molecular weight of the acid generator is 600 or less, and a mass ratio of a content of the acid generator to a content of the color-forming agent is 1.01 to 40.00.