Safe and sustainable structural colorants free of toxic pigments and dyes developed by Cypris Materials. The technology behind Cypris’ colorants was inspired by how animals naturally exhibit vibrant colors via the reflection of certain wavelengths of light off biological nanostructures with precise physical spacing. Cypris develops self-assembling brush block copolymers through ruthenium catalysis. Using the same physics as the RGB on our computers, Cypris produces the entire rainbow of colors. Like a computer screen uses a 3-process RGB gamut (red, green, blue) to produce approximately 70% of the colors humans can see, Cypris uses additive color mixing to generate durable and vivid high chroma colors from just blue and red paint. This physics allows for less manufacturing, materials, and formulation hassle. By using self-assembling brush block copolymer technology, Cypris rapidly produces structure-based colorants. Dissolving these brush block copolymers in a carrier fluid, such as an ultraviolet-curable monomer, causes them to form layers that reflect light. The wavelength reflected is determined by the length of the copolymer chain. They can produce large copolymers that reflect anything from UV near-infrared light. This process requires dense polymers, achieved through a ruthenium catalyst system.
