YInMn Blue (; for the Y for yttrium, In for indium, and Mn for manganese), also known as Oregon Blue or Mas Blue, is an inorganic blue pigment that was discovered by Mas Subramanian and his (then) graduate student, Andrew Smith, at Oregon State University in 2009. The pigment is noteworthy for its vibrant, near-perfect blue color and unusually high Near-infrared. The chemical compound has a unique crystal structure in which trivalent manganese ions in the trigonal bipyramidal coordination are responsible for the observed intense blue color. Since the initial discovery, the fundamental principles of colour science have been explored extensively by the Subramanian research team at Oregon State University, resulting in a wide range of rationally designed novel green, purple, and orange pigments, all through intentional addition of a chromophore in the trigonal bipyramidal coordination environment.
A number of pigments are used to impart the blue color. Cobalt blue () was first described in 1777; it is extremely stable and has been traditionally used as a coloring agent in ceramics. Ultramarine () was made by grinding the forbiddingly expensive lapis lazuli into a powder until a cheaper synthetic form was invented in 1826 by the French industrialist Jean Baptiste Guimet and in 1828 by the German chemist Christian Gmelin. Prussian blue () was first described by the German polymath Johann Leonhard Frisch and the president of the Prussian Academy of Sciences, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, in 1708.
Most known pigments have detrimental health and environmental effects or durability problems. Cobalt blue causes cobalt poisoning when inhaled or ingested. Prussian blue is known to liberate hydrogen cyanide under certain acidic conditions. Ultramarine and azurite are not stable particularly in high-temperature and acidic conditions; additionally, ultramarine production involves the emission of a large amount of the toxic sulfur dioxide. The newer Phthalocyanine Blue BN is non-biodegradable and has been found to cause neuroanatomical defects in developing chicken embryos when injected directly into incubating eggs.
Inorganic blue pigments in which manganese (in the pentavalent oxidation state and in a tetrahedral coordination) is the chromophore have been employed since Middle Ages (e.g., the fossil bone odontolite, which is isostructural to the apatite structure). Synthetic alternatives, such as barium manganate sulfate (or Manganese Blue, developed in 1907 and patented in 1935), have been phased out industrially due to safety and regulatory concerns,
The pigment is noteworthy for its vibrant, near-perfect blue color and unusually high Near-infrared. The color may be adjusted by varying the In/Mn ratio in the pigment's base formula of , but the bluest pigment, , has a color comparable to standard cobalt blue pigments.
The pigment is resistant to acids such as nitric acid, and is difficult to combust. When YInMn Blue does ignite, it burns a violet color attributed to the indium atoms.
Infrared radiation is strongly reflected by YInMn Blue, which makes this pigment suitable for energy-saving, cool coatings. It can be prepared by heating the oxides of the elements yttrium, indium, and manganese to a temperature of approximately .
AMD announced in July 2016 that the pigment would be used on new Radeon Pro WX and Pro SSG professional GPUs for the energy efficiency that stems from its near-infrared reflecting property.
The American art supplies company Crayola announced in May 2017 that it planned to replace its retired Dandelion color (a yellow) with a new color "inspired by" YInMn. The new color does not contain any YInMn. Crayola held a contest for more pronounceable name ideas, and announced the new color name, "Bluetiful", on 14 September 2017. The new crayon color was made available in late 2017.
As of April 2021, Golden Paints has commercially licensed and sourced the pigment, in the America from Shepherd Color Company. According to Golden, the supply of the raw pigment is extremely limited. Shepherd Color Company received the required environmental and safety approvals to sell the pigment in the U.S. in 2020.
Gamblin Artists Colors made a first Limited Edition batch of YInMn Blue in November 2020.
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