A new method to prepare 'Maya red' pigment from sepiolite and Basic red 46

In the study, a new vacuum method was applied to prepare the hybrid pigments of sepiolite and Basic red 46 (XL-GRL). Various hybrid pigments respectively prepared by the vacuum method, solid method and liquid method were compared. The obtained products were respectively labeled as VM, SM and LM. The prepared pigments were then characterized and tested by X-ray diffraction, Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and N-2 physisorption method. The effects of the preparation methods on the structure, morphology, composition, chemical stability and thermal stability of the hybrid pigments were explored. The results indicated that XL-GRL was mainly adsorbed on the sepiolite via electrostatic attraction after heating at 150 degrees C. In addition, more XL-GRL molecules could be encapsulated in sepiolite channels in VM and exhibited the more stable performance than those in SM and LM in the chemical, thermal and color stability tests. Therefore, the vacuum method could effectively improve the stability of the hybrid pigments.