New chemical modification processes make it possible to introduce hydrophilic structures to the surface of pigment carbon blacks (pigment CBs). The modification can be done via cyclo additions or radical reactions, for example. One potential application field for surface-modified pigment CBs is inkjet. The proportion of pigments inkjet inks will steadily grow. Especially self-stabilizing materials satisfy the high demands of this sophisticated technology. This paper describes comparative analyses between conventional pigment CBs, their physical modification with the aid of polymers, and chemically modified pigment CBs with their wetting-agent free inks. Both pigment properties and ink properties were investigated. To clarify the differences of the pigments EDX-spectra coupled with electron-microscopy was an important method. Dispersion properties were characterized via the zeta-potential, the viscosity, the surface tension, and the particle size distribution of the CB in the dispersion. The results illustrate the benefits of the surface-modified pigment CBs developed by Degussa. In addition to the above-mentioned methods, the inks were tested in brand-name conventional SOHO printers. The dispersant free inks showed superior results with established bubble-jet print heads because the product properties of the surface modified pigment CBs were chemically fine tuned and the ink formulation was simplified.
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