0000000000006172
AUTHOR
Manuel Sanchez Del Rio
ChemInform Abstract: Maya Blue as a Nanostructured Polyfunctional Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Material: The Need to Change Paradigms.
Maya Blue, an ancient nanostructured organic–inorganic hybrid material resulting from the attachment of indigo, a natural dye, to a phyllosilicate clay, palygorskite, has received considerable attention of late. Despite intensive research, several aspects remain unsolved, in particular the nature of the indigo–palygorskite association. Recent results suggest that the Maya Blue pigment is a complex system in which different topological isomers of various indigoid molecules attached to the palygorskite matrix coexist.
Maya Blue as a nanostructured polyfunctional hybrid organic–inorganic material: the need to change paradigms
Maya Blue, an ancient nanostructured organic–inorganic hybrid material resulting from the attachment of indigo, a natural dye, to a phyllosilicate clay, palygorskite, has received considerable attention of late. Despite intensive research, several aspects remain unsolved, in particular the nature of the indigo–palygorskite association. Recent results suggest that the Maya Blue pigment is a complex system in which different topological isomers of various indigoid molecules attached to the palygorskite matrix coexist.
The Maya Blue Pigment
Abstract Maya blue is an artificial pigment fabricated by the Maya in the early first millennium AD. The pigment was used in Prehispanic times from the southern Maya region to most Mesoamerican cultures. Maya blue is made from indigotin mixed with palygorskite. This light blue pigment is surprisingly resistant to degradation in adverse environmental conditions, as it is unaffected by the attack of acids, alkalis, oxidants, reducing agents and organic solvents. Scientists do not fully agree in the mechanism of this organoclay interaction. The fabrication and distribution of this pigment probably required a sophisticated technical and commercial infrastructure. This chapter reviews the presen…