Serendipity may happen to many scientists, but it takes recognizing the happy accident for its full value to be realized. In the case of YInMn blue, it was a quick graduate student, Andrew Smith, who made the catch:
Back in 2009, Professor Mas Subramanian from the Department of Chemistry at Oregon State University created a pigment which had a new and vibrant shade of blue. Formed by heating black manganese oxide and other chemicals in a furnace to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, the intention of Subramanian and his research group was not to create new pigments, but to create new materials for applications in solid state electronics. Instead, by pure chance, a graduate student of Subramanian happened to notice the blue color of the compound in the furnace that is now known as YInMn Blue, a nod to its composition that includes Yttrium, Indium and Manganese.
They certainly weren’t looking for a new pigment, but the scientific report of it explains that
Our optical measurements and first-principles density functional theory calculations indicate that the blue color results from an intense absorption in the red/green region.
The ratio matters.In other words, it absorbs almost all the red and green light, reflecting a particularly pure swath of blue light. Oddly, it is only a narrow range of manganese that confers this beautiful blue on the pigment.
The OSU press release about the license explains that the pigment has several additional, highly valuable properties. It is made from nontoxic materials and is nontoxic itself. The color is stable, unlike many blue pigments (likely because the blue color results from the crystal structure itself).
This pigment is far more stable when exposed to heat or acidic conditions. Additionally, unlike Prussian blue or Cobalt blue pigments, it doesn’t release cyanide and is not carcinogenic – that's always a plus.
And finally, and perhaps most importantly, it reflects infrared light very efficiently.
Another commercial use of the product – in addition to coatings and plastics, may be in roofing materials. The new pigment is a “cool blue” compound that has infrared reflectivity of about 40 percent – much high than other blue pigments – and could be used in the blue roofing movement.
Can you imagine a street of houses roofed in this celestial blue?