Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Here’s how you know

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

HTTPS

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means you have safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

    • Environmental Topics
    • Air
    • Bed Bugs
    • Chemicals and Toxics
    • Climate Change
    • Emergency Response
    • Environmental Information by Location
    • Environmental Justice
    • Greener Living
    • Health
    • Land, Waste, and Cleanup
    • Lead
    • Mold
    • Pesticides
    • Radon
    • Science Topics
    • Water Topics
    • A-Z Topic Index
    • Laws & Regulations
    • By Business Sector
    • By Topic
    • Compliance
    • Enforcement
    • Guidance
    • Laws and Executive Orders
    • Regulations
    • Report a Violation
    • Environmental Violations
    • Fraud, Waste or Abuse
    • About EPA
    • EPA Administrator
    • Organization Chart
    • Staff Directory
    • Planning, Budget, and Results
    • Jobs and Internships
    • Headquarters Offices
    • Regional Offices
    • Lab and Research Centers
Contact Us

Grantee Research Project Results

Easy to Apply, Tunable Structural Color: Color Without Pigments, Dyes, Metals, or PCBs

EPA Contract Number: 68HERC22C0031
Title: Easy to Apply, Tunable Structural Color: Color Without Pigments, Dyes, Metals, or PCBs
Investigators: Ryan, Matthew
Small Business: Cypris Materials, Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: December 1, 2021 through May 31, 2022
Project Amount: $99,956
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I (2022) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) , SBIR - Toxic Chemicals

Description:

Cypris Materials is developing the next generation of color and addressing major cross-industry pain points - improving sustainability, broadening the color gamut, reducing manufacturing hassle, and simplifying formulation. All of these features are accomplished without pigments, dyes, metals, polychlorinated biphenyls, or expensive engineering processes. The key technological breakthrough comes from Cypris' ability to manufacture organic polymers that can form reflective structures through a self-assembly process that occurs at ambient conditions and on time scales that enables a biomimetic paintable/printable color platform, called structural color. This strategy eliminates the need for exogenous colorants and the associated formulation challenges that come with them - case specific stabilizing additives (like polychlorinated biphenyls), rheological modifiers, dispersants, and mechanical milling to reduce/shape particle size. Simply: Cypris' materials are built using the same polymeric binder materials already used in paints and inks today, however, Cypris' materials have the added functionality of color. Nothing new needs to be introduced into the paint or ink system, only the removal of "classic" colorants, ensuring that Cypris' solution isn't creating new un-tested or unintentional undesirable byproducts and removes all environmental costs associated with "classic" colorant technology. Cypris Materials' color platform technology can access a variety of exciting consumer market verticals. The proposed technology will find use in commercial applications where color coatings are implemented, including but not limited to: cosmetics (nail polish - $15.55B TAM), printing (global inks market - $25.83B TAM), automotive ($26.8B TAM), and generally as a drop-in colorant ($70.0B TAM). Our largest barriers to market which will be addressed in a Phase I and Phase II EPA SBIR are: 1) formulations into eco-friendly water-based or UV-curable paints/ink formulations, 2) establishing scalable green chemistry manufacturing approaches with our commercial scaling partners, 3) addressing rules and regulations with distribution partners, and 4) quantifying upstream and downstream impacts against "classic" colorant technology.

Progress and Final Reports:

  • Final Report
  • Top of Page

    The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.

    Project Research Results

    • Final Report

    Site Navigation

    • Grantee Research Project Results Home
    • Grantee Research Project Results Basic Search
    • Grantee Research Project Results Advanced Search
    • Grantee Research Project Results Fielded Search
    • Publication search
    • EPA Regional Search

    Related Information

    • Search Help
    • About our data collection
    • Research Grants
    • P3: Student Design Competition
    • Research Fellowships
    • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

    Contact Us to ask a question, provide feedback, or report a problem.

    United States Environmental Protection Agency

    Discover.

    • Accessibility
    • Budget & Performance
    • Contracting
    • EPA www Web Snapshot
    • Grants
    • No FEAR Act Data
    • Plain Writing
    • Privacy
    • Privacy and Security Notice

    Connect.

    • Data.gov
    • Inspector General
    • Jobs
    • Newsroom
    • Open Government
    • Regulations.gov
    • Subscribe
    • USA.gov
    • White House

    Ask.

    • Contact EPA
    • EPA Disclaimers
    • Hotlines
    • FOIA Requests
    • Frequent Questions

    Follow.

    Last updated on October 20, 2022