The present invention provides a magnetic multilayer pigment flake and a magnetic coating composition that are relatively safe for human health and the environment. The pigment flake includes one or more magnetic layers of a magnetic alloy and one or more dielectric layers of a dielectric material. The magnetic alloy is an iron-chromium alloy or an iron-chromium-aluminum alloy, having a substantially nickel-free composition. The coating composition includes a plurality of the pigment flakes disposed in a binder medium.

A platelet-shaped magnetic effect pigment for use in a printing ink, includes a layer construction with a magnetic layer and at least one optical functional layer. The magnetic layer is based on magnetic particles fixed within a solid matrix and having a largely uniform preferential magnetic direction deviating from the platelet plane.

The invention relates to coated effect pigments, wherein the coating comprises a binder which is suitable for powder paints. They comprise a crystalline and an amorphous fraction which is determined by C.sup.13 NMR MAS relaxation measurements, the relaxation of the .sup.13C cores being fitted as a biexponential relaxation according to the formula (II) and the degree of crystallinity c being in a range between 40 to 85%, and relaxation having a short average relaxation time T.sub.1.sup.S and a long average relaxation time T.sub.1.sup.l, and T.sub.1.sup.l being in a range of from 65 to 130 s. The effect pigments coated according to the invention have at least one endothermic peak with a maximum from a range of T.sub.max=100 to 150° C. and an enthalpy ΔH associated with said peak from a range of 15 J/g to 80 J/g in DSC at a feed speed of 5° C./min, the enthalpy being calculated relative to the amount of the binder. The binders are applied to the effect pigment by way of spontaneous precipitation.

A multilayered interference pigment containing, in succession: a metal core in the form of a flake, the metal core containing a material selected from gold, silver, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, platinum, osmium, iridium and an alloy thereof; a first layer of transparent dielectric material; and a second discontinuous metal layer making it possible to both reflect a portion of the light beam and to transmit another portion of this beam onto the metal core.

A platelet-shaped magnetic effect pigment is provided for use in a printing ink, and includes a layer construction with a magnetic layer and at least one optical functional layer, such that the magnetic layer is based on a magnetic material having a column-shaped nanostructure and the magnetic columns respectively have a largely uniform preferential magnetic direction deviating from the platelet plane.

The present invention relates to the use of flake-form effect pigments for increasing the infrared reflection of a dark or black layer composite, consisting of a substrate and a coating on the substrate, and to a dark or black layer composite of this type which has increased infrared reflection, in particular in the near infrared (NIR), compared with conventional dark or black layer composites which comprise only carbon-containing black pigments.

Disclosed herein are coatings having enhanced reflectivity for electromagnetic radiation, as well as a process for producing the coatings.

Disclosed herein are retroreflective pigments and paints including the retroreflective pigments.

A magnetic pigment flake includes a filtering film layer, with magnetic or magnetizable material, and a metal nanoparticles layer, formed on a surface of the filtering film layer. The metal nanoparticles layer is configured to generate scattered light enhanced by a local surface plasmon resonance under an irradiation of visible light exceeding a predetermined intensity. An optically variable ink includes an ink body and the above-mentioned magnetic pigment flakes. An anti-falsification article includes an article body and the above-mentioned optically variable ink. The magnetic pigment flake of the optically variable ink is magnetically oriented, such that a bright and dark areas are generated with a viewing angel changing under an irradiation of visible light below the predetermined intensity. Under an irradiation of visible light exceeding the predetermined intensity, light with a color different from that of the bright area is generated on a corresponding position of the dark area.

An article includes a reflector having a first surface, a second surface opposite the first surface, and a third surface; and a first selective light modulator layer external to the first surface of the reflector; wherein the third surface of the reflector is open. A method of making an article is also disclosed.