Facile and rapid synthesis of novel hybrid pigments and their application as colorants in high-performance polymer

Abstract

Facile and efficient synthesis of hybrid pigments by removing common synthetic dyes, e.g., Rhodamine (RhB), Acid Yellow 17 (AY17), and Acid Violet 7 (AV7), from the water via adsorption process utilizing Cucurbit[6]uril, CB[6], (a major by-product formed during CB[n] synthesis) as an adsorbent is described. The influence of various parameters on the adsorption process is investigated. The adsorption mechanism is studied by performing ATR-FTIR and TGA analyses. Subsequently, The obtained hybrids pigments RhB@CB[6] (P1), AY17@CB[6] (P2), and AV7@CB[6] (P3) were used as thermoplastic colorants. All the hybrid pigments are processed into Polystyrene (PS) at 250 °C with good color intensity, color brightness, and homogeneous dispersion. The hybrid pigments exhibit better photostability, heat resistance, and migration resistance to acid, alkali, and organic solvents. This protocol provides a potential alternative to traditional inorganic pigments via dye wastewater treatment and reuse of dye by absorbing onto major by-product CB[6] as hybrid pigment colorants for various thermoplastics.