Have you ever wondered the
important role played by tail lamps in a car or as a matter of fact in any
vehicle? Tail lamps save lives and that is the reason why it is compulsory to
have them in working condition all the time. Broken tail lamps can lead to accidents
of grave nature. Tail lamps too have their own story, especially the colour
associated with these. Here begins the story of Lanxess and its role in
colours.
In addition to its established
portfolio of synthetic iron oxide pigments, Lanxess, the global specialty
chemicals company, also offers soluble organic dyes in a variety of shades and
is the only multinational manufacturer with this offering. Identified as brand
Macrolex, these dyes dissolve in a molecular form in plastics. Apart from the
excellent colour strength, they are easy to use (no dispersion and causes no
mechanical damage to the polymer) and are stable even through changes in
temperature.
They are ideally suited for
the colouring of amorphous polymers such as PS, PC, ABS, PMMA, PET and their
blends. In fact, the transparent colouring of glass-clear plastics is only
possible with soluble dyes such as Macrolex, says a press release from Lanxess.
These include end applications like water bottles (PC), water and beer bottles
(PET), PMMA/ PC car taillights and toys (ABS) among others. In India, Lanxess
is particularly well-positioned to address the colorant needs of automotive
plastics like electrical parts in cars through Macrolex dyes. It should come as
no surprise that Lanxess is a leading supplier of these dyes to masterbatch
manufacturers in India and leads the market especially in the applications of
red shade.
Macrolex dyes are used to
obtain different translucent and opaque shades in combination with inorganic
pigments and are suited for applications with high temperatures, where most
organic pigments begin to degrade. These dyes dissolve completely in the
plastics which melt at the respective processing temperatures of the
thermoplastic. In effect, this means maximum colour yield and high
reproducibility of colour formulations; irrespective of the dispersing speed of
the equipment used.
They are soluble in organic
solvents like aromatics, esters, chlorinated hydrocarbons. They are insoluble
in water or, in dilute aqueous solutions of acetic acid or alcohol. This
property is important for consumer goods, food packaging and children's toys
made of coloured plastics, because the dye cannot bleed into the respective
media.
Macrolex Gran is one of the
first microgranulated dyes ever. They are efficient, cost-effective and are
easier to process as compared to powder dyes. Lanxess is one of the few
manufacturers in the world who has been able to achieve an all-round
improvement in the quality of soluble dyes. Available in granules, Macrolex
Gran offers brilliant tints, lightfastness and stability, besides several other
advantages.
Picture of a tail lamp for representation purpose only, courtesy
Lanxess