To provide an infrared-reflective pigment and infrared-reflective coating composition provided with both high infrared-light reflecting properties and high visible-light transparency. Provided is a flake-shaped infrared-reflective pigment, the infrared-reflective pigment 1 characterized by being provided with a layered body 13 having at least one metal thin-film layer 11 and at least two transparent dielectric layers 12, the film thickness of the dielectric layer 12 being (an integer multiple of /4n)10 nm, where is the wavelength of incident light in a visible-light peripheral region and n is the refractive index of the dielectric layer 12. Also provided is an infrared-reflective coating composition containing the infrared-reflective pigment 1.

Described are solventborne pigment pastes comprising lamellar effect pigments. Also described is the use of the solventborne pigment pastes comprising lamellar effect pigments for producing solventborne effect coating materials. Further described is a process for producing solventborne effect coating materials.

Disclosed herein is an aqueous base metal pigment dispersion liquid, including: a base metal pigment surface-treated with a fluorine-based compound; and water as a part of a solvent, in which the aqueous base metal pigment dispersion liquid further includes one or more solvents having a specific dielectric constant of greater than or equal to 30 and less than or equal to 50 and one or more solvents having a specific dielectric constant of less than 30, as measured by an alternate current-type dielectric constant measurement device at a temperature of 23 C. and a frequency of 10 kHz, as the solvent, as the solvent, and in which the sum of the solvents having a specific dielectric constant of greater than or equal to 30 and less than or equal to 50 is more than or equal to 5 mass % and less than or equal to 50 mass % and the sum of the solvents having a specific dielectric constant of less than 30 is more than or equal to 5 mass % and less than or equal to 20 mass %, when the total amount of the solvents is 100 mass %.

The present invention provides a silver paste, containing at least a silver powder, a binder resin, and an organic solvent, in which a content of the silver powder based on the silver paste is 80.00 to 97.00% by mass, D10 is 1.00 to 3.00 ?m and D50 is 3.00 to 7.00 ?m, where D10 and D50 respectively represent a 10% value and a 50% value of a volume-based cumulative fraction obtained by laser diffraction particle size distribution measurement of the silver powder, the silver powder has a specific surface area of 0.10 to 0.30 m.sup.2/g, the silver powder has a copper content of 10 to 5000 ppm by mass, a content of the binder resin based on the silver powder is 0.430 to 0.750% by mass, and the silver paste has a dry film density of 7.50 g/cm.sup.3 or more.

Provided is an aluminum pigment which is excellent in terms of a sense of compactness, optical characteristics, and dispersion/workability, and which can realize a metallic design. In this aluminum pigment, metallic aluminum particles have an average thickness of 0.02-0.20 ?m, an average aspect ratio (particle cross section length/particle cross section thickness) of 40-100, and a standard deviation of aspect ratio of 15-70.

A method for increasing a detection distance of a surface of an object illuminated by near-IR electromagnetic radiation, including: (a) directing near-IR electromagnetic radiation from a near-IR electromagnetic radiation source towards an object at least partially coated with a near-IR reflective coating that increases a near-IR electromagnetic radiation detection distance by at least 15% as measured at a wavelength in a near-IR range as compared to the same object coated with a color matched coating which absorbs more of the same near-IR radiation, where the color matched coating has a ?E color matched value of 1.5 or less when compared to the near-IR reflective coating; and (b) detecting reflected near-IR electromagnetic radiation reflected from the near-IR reflective coating. A system for detecting proximity of vehicles is also disclosed.

The present invention relates to coated zinc sulfide pigments and to the use thereof, preferably in paints, automotive paints, industrial coatings, powder coatings, plastics, printing inks, ceramic glazes and cosmetic formulations, and to a process for the preparation thereof.

A dispersion comprising at least metallic copper particles with gelatin provided on the surface thereof, a polymeric dispersant, and an organic solvent. The dispersion is produced by reducing copper oxide in an aqueous solvent in the presence of gelatin having an amine number and an acid number wherein the difference (amine numberacid number) is 0 or less, then subjecting the reaction solution to solid-liquid separation, and then mixing the resultant metallic copper particles with gelatin provided on the surface thereof and a polymeric dispersant having an amine number and an acid number wherein the difference (amine numberacid number) is 0 to 50, into an organic solvent. The dispersion maintains dispersion stability of the metallic copper particles for a long time, is suitable for inkjet printing and spray coating and can be used to make microelectrodes and circuit wiring patterns.

The present invention relates to a pigment paste comprising at least one aqueous dispersion comprising at least one copolymer, said copolymer being preparable by (i) initially charging an aqueous dispersion of at least one polyurethane, and then (ii) polymerizing a mixture of olefinically unsaturated monomers in the presence of the polyurethane from (i), in which (a) a water-soluble initiator is used, (b) the olefinically unsaturated monomers are metered in such that a concentration of 6.0% by weight, based on the total amount of olefinically unsaturated monomers used for polymerization, in the reaction solution is not exceeded over the entire reaction time, and (c) the mixture of the olefinically unsaturated monomers comprises at least one polyolefinically unsaturated monomer, and further comprising a pigment, where the weight ratio of pigment to copolymer is at least 1.5. The invention further relates to the use of the copolymer for dispersion of pigments.

A main object of the present invention to provide a coated pigment that is composed of a composite particle comprising a silicon compound coated on the surface of a metal particle, and that can be dispersed with relatively few aggregates. The present invention relates to a coated pigment comprising a composite particle containing a metal particle and one or two or more coating layers on the surface of the metal particle, wherein (1) at least one of the coating layers is a silicon compound-containing layer, and (2) the proportion of aggregates formed by adhesion of at least four of the composite particles with each other is not more than 35% by number.