The present invention relates to alumina flakes having a defined thickness and particle size distribution and to their use in varnishes, paints, automotive coatings, printing inks, masterbatches, plastics and cosmetic formulations and as substrate for effect pigments.

The present invention relates to alumina flakes having a defined thickness and particle size distribution and to their use in varnishes, paints, automotive coatings, printing inks, masterbatches, plastics and cosmetic formulations and as substrate for effect pigments.

The invention relates to a surface-modified effect pigment comprising particular additives and to the production thereof. The present invention further provides a nail varnish composition comprising a) at least one effect pigment that has been surface-modified with a starting material (additive), where the effect pigment comprises a substrate in platelet form and optionally at least one coating applied to the substrate, b) at least one hydrocarbon resin as binder, and c) at least one solvent or solvent mixture, where the starting material (additive) for surface modification of the effect pigment is at least one compound taken from the group consisting of phosphoric ester-containing, phosphonic ester-containing, phosphonic acid-containing, fatty acid-containing and/or silane-containing compounds or mixtures thereof.

A pearlescent pigment for security purposes according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a single or a plurality of coating layers containing a metal oxide and an organic or inorganic fluorescent material. Since the pearlescent pigment for security purposes according to the present disclosure includes a fluorescent layer containing the organic or inorganic fluorescent material, it can be used as a pigment for security purposes due to its optical characteristics and can also provide effects such as magnetism, high color intensity, multiple colors, etc. Also, since the pearlescent pigment for security purposes has aesthetic benefit and security characteristic at the same time, it is economical, easy to use and applicable in various industries.

This invention deals with effect pigment mixture comprising platelet-like aluminum effect pigments obtained by grinding of aluminum or aluminum based alloy shot and silvery pearlescent pigments, wherein the silvery pearlescent pigments are taken from the group consisting of: a) pearlescent pigments comprising a transparent substrate which is coated with a high-refractive index layer with n>1.8, which comprises or consists of an iron-oxide with Fe(II)-ions, b) pearlescent pigments comprising a transparent substrate which is coated with a high-refractive index layer with n>1.8, which comprises or consists of titanium suboxide or a pearlescent pigment comprising a substrate with a high-refractive index with n>1.8 layer, which comprises or consists of a titanium suboxide that is optionally coated with a high-refractive index layer with n>1.8, c) pearlescent pigments comprising a transparent substrate which is coated with a high-refractive index layer with n>1.8, which comprises or consists of titanium oxynitride, d) pearlescent pigments comprising a transparent substrate which is coated with a layer comprising carbon, wherein the carbon is enclosed in a particulate form in another metal oxide layer or is formed as a separate, individual layer, e) a transparent substrate coated with a first layer comprising or consisting of a mixture of the oxides of titanium, iron and at least one of cobalt and chromium and a second layer on the first layer, wherein the second layer comprises an oxide of titanium, and mixtures or combinations of the pearlescent pigments a) to e) or pearlescent pigments with mixtures or combinations of the various coating layers mentioned in the pearlescent pigments a) to e), wherein the weight ratio of the pearlescent pigment to the aluminum effect pigment is in a range of 0.4 to 5.0. The invention deals also with a coating formulation containing this effect pigment mixture.

The invention relates to effect pigments comprising artificial platelet-shaped substrates which have at least one optically active coating, where the effect pigments have a volume-averaged cumulative undersize distribution curve with the characteristic numbers D.sub.10, D.sub.50 and D.sub.90, said cumulative undersize distribution curve having a span ΔD of 0.7-1.4, and the span ΔD being calculated in accordance with formula (I):
ΔD=(D.sub.90−D.sub.10)/D.sub.50  (I),
and the average thickness of the artificial platelet-shaped substrates being 500 nm to 2000 nm.

An article including a reflector having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface; a first selective light modulator layer external to the first surface of the reflector; a second selective light modulator layer external to the second surface of the reflector; a first absorber layer external to the first selective light modulator layer; and a second absorber layer external to the second selective light modulator layer; wherein each of the first and second selective light modulator layers include a host material is disclosed herein. Methods of making the article are also disclosed.

The present invention provides a glitter pigment capable of simultaneously achieving electromagnetic wave transmission properties, a high reflectance in appearance, and a neutral color in appearance. The glitter pigment according to the present invention includes: a glass flake 1; and a titanium oxide layer 2 and a silver layer 3 formed in this order on the glass flake 1, wherein a product of the optical thickness of the glass flake 1 and the optical thickness of the titanium oxide layer 2 is 61000 or more and 66000 or less when the optical thickness is expressed in nm, and the silver layer 3 has a physical thickness of 35 nm or more and 55 nm or less.

The invention relates to a surface-modified effect pigment comprising particular additives and to the production thereof. The present invention further provides a nail varnish composition comprising a) at least one effect pigment that has been surface-modified with a starting material (additive), where the effect pigment comprises a substrate in platelet form and optionally at least one coating applied to the substrate, b) at least one hydrocarbon resin as binder, and c) at least one solvent or solvent mixture, where the starting material (additive) for surface modification of the effect pigment is at least one compound taken from the group consisting of phosphoric ester-containing, phosphonic ester-containing, phosphonic acid-containing, fatty acid-containing and/or silane-containing compounds or mixtures thereof.

Provided is an infrared-reflective coating composition that includes: a scale-like infrared-reflective pigment; and a resin component, wherein the pigment includes a layered body that has dielectric layers and a metal thin film layer layered in an alternate fashion with the dielectric layer on the outermost layer; the dielectric layer is formed from one or more materials such as titanium dioxide; the metal thin film layer is formed from a silver compound; a film thickness of the metal thin film layer is 5 to 15 nm; a film thickness of the dielectric layer is ((Nλ)/(4r))±20 nm (N=1, 2 or 3) wherein wavelength λ of incident light is 250 to 980 nm, and r is a refractive index of the dielectric layer; and a proportion of the infrared-reflective pigment having a particle diameter of 1 μm or smaller is 10% by volume or smaller.