The 1st challenge: choosing the right family of materials

Today, there are various intelligent materials (pigments and dyes) on the market. Some smart molecules have been known for decades. However, it is important to think carefully before choosing a generation of chameleon materials: thermochromic, photochromic, piezochromic, chemochromic...
Some processes are extremely fragile and have a very limited light resistance to ultraviolet exposure (like thermochromic pigments), which greatly reduces the use of these materials in outdoor conditions.
Some of thermochromic derivatives also contain restricted substances, such as Bisphenol A (BPA) molecules and/or toxic metals that will severely limit the end use.
Some color changing products are available for a test, but their industrialization on the long term with the obtaining of identical batch in property can quickly prove to be problematic.
The 2nd challenge: mastering the color change in the finished product
These intelligent materials are extremely sensitive to their environment and too many industrial developments are currently halted by a lack of understanding of the thermodynamic processes involved in color change. The milling and formulation steps modify the physico-chemical environment of the intelligent pigments.
Consequently, it is essential to control the property at each stage, until the finished material. For this, it is necessary to use absorption and fluorescence spectrometers, diffuse reflectivity devices to follow the color change according to the temperature, to the light...
The 3rd challenge: to program the color change properly

The existence of several physical processes involved in the color change allows, if they are well controlled, to adapt to industrial demands. It is a real programming of the pigment so that the change of colors intervenes in a reversible or irreversible way, at a defined threshold of disturbance.
It is also advisable to take into account the fatigability of the intelligent material in its final use, namely, the duration of the phenomenon (number of cycles of switching the temperature, the light...), speed of the phenomenon (round trip)...
The 4th challenge: hoping for a finished product "off the shelf"
To save time, the OliKrom team is often asked to order a finished product "off the shelf" to satisfy an industrial need, some applications. The reality is quite different!
Each specification has its own particularities, such as the intelligent property required, the shaping requirements during the industrial process, the desired durability or the regulatory aspects... Each of these elements is essential for our researchers team to synthesize the right pigment and formulate the optimal solution (paint, ink,...).
The consequence of a wrong selection is the rapid degradation of the properties of Chameleon response (thermochromic, photochromic...), or the performance of the luminescence, fluorescence, phosphorescence...