Definition
The defining characteristic of photochromic colorants is that they change color reversibly in response to variations in the intensity of particular wavelengths of light to which they are exposed. Industry has been successfully exploiting such dyes for more than a quarter of a century, manufacturing millions of dollars’ worth each year [4, 18]. The majority is consumed in the production of ophthalmic lenses that darken reversibly when exposed to strong sunshine. Photochromism continues to attract the interest of both industrial and academic researchers, who are looking to harness photochromic colorants in fields like optoelectronics and nanotechnology.
Photochromism
The widely accepted definition of photochromism is that of a reversible color change induced in a compound driven in one or both directions by the action of electromagnetic radiation [8, 9]. Photochromic systems are classified as either “P-type” or “T-type.” The former kind can be switched in each direction with...
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Towns, A. (2021). Colorant, Photochromic. In: Shamey, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_163-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_163-6
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Colorant, Photochromic- Published:
- 13 October 2020
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_163-6
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Colorant, Photochromic- Published:
- 06 October 2014
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_163-5