Every day we see blue hues in many different places, from the sky to the sea and even the clothes we wear.
Therefore, we tend to believe that this tonality, one of the primary colors next to yellow and magenta, it is easy to obtain. But it is not so. In fact, blue is the most difficult primary color to obtain since the time of the ancient Egyptians.
On the other hand, if we talk about the various shades within the color blue, it has been more than 200 years (specifically in 1802) that a new shade of blue. At that time cobalt blue was discovered. But now, by accident, it seems that we can confirm that a new shade of blue was discovered a few years ago: YInMn.
The new shade of blue, a welcome accident
Really what Professor Mas Subramanian and his colleagues from the chemistry department of the University of Oregon was to create a material for electronics. They used manganese, indian and yttrium and subjected them to a temperature of 1,200 C, but the electrical conductor attempt was catastrophic. However, the bluish hue of the experiment was worthy of attention in Subramanian’s opinion, so he wanted to study its properties further.
It turned out that this new shade of blue was almost perfect, very similar to lapis lazuli according to scientists, to which are added properties such as durability, stability and strength enviable for any shade of blue existing so far.
YInMn blue, the new shade of blue with incredible properties
This new shade of blue has been called YInMn blue, which seems to be able reflect heat (Which will give it good uses in car paint, for example). Also, unlike the well-known cobalt blue, this new shade of blue not carcinogenic or toxic.
Also, researchers have been able to use this same technique to create new shades of other colors, such as red, orange, or green. But it seems that this bright blue is the one with the most commercial future.
For the time being, as a future objective, the Subramanian team aims to create new inorganic pigments focusing on their durability and, above all, on the characteristics of zero toxicity.
