Hindered settling of organic pigment dispersions in hydrocarbon liquids

A modified Steinour hindered settling method has been developed for the study of dispersed organic pigment species containing a large proportion of associated immobile liquid. These species are termed flow units with effective volumes and densities different from those of the pigment itself. The effective volume and density are calculated from the final sediment volume fraction after correction (if practicable) by an appropriate packing factor. The mean flow unit diameter (or a size parameter) can then be estimated. The present method has been satisfactorily tested using formalin-fixed yeast cells as model flow units which can be sized readily by optical microscopy. Data for organic pigment dispersions compare well with their appearance under the optical microscope. Various uses of simplified versions of the present technique in studies of dispersibility and dispersion stability of organic pigments are described and exemplified using mainly copper phthalocyanine pigments in hydrocarbon solvents.