The Chemistry of Writing Materials

I. History of Writing Materials

4000-3000 BC Uruk in Mesopotamia
Sumerian culture
Cuneiform
3000 BC

1500 BC

Egyptian papyrus
Around 3000 BC, in Egypt,
people begin making a
flexible smooth surface,
which will accept and
retain ink without blur or
smudge.
Bamboo books
From Chinese tradition

5th Century BC Wax, leaves and wood

2nd Century BC Pergamum (form of
leather)
and parchment
AD 105

The discovery of paper

Chinese tradition attributes
one of the most widereaching of inventions to a
eunuch at the imperial
court, by the name of Cai
Lun, in the year AD 105.

The Chinese invented the ink in 2500 BC.

Extracts from plants and fruits like

berries were more popularly used
for preparing different colored inks

11th Century Chinese block printing with

gelatinous ink

Carbon would not stick to greasy

parchment paper creation of iron
gall inks (iron salt +
tannic acid)
1800s Inks based on new ammonia
aniline dye
technology
At present - Basic formula for ink: iron
salts,
nutgalls and gum

II. Ballpoint Pen Ink

- Made from Dyes and Inks

Color comes from either a dye,

which can dissolve in water, or a
pigment, which is water insoluble.

Red Eosin or sodium

salicylate & iron chloride

White Titanium oxide

Metallic Gold copperzinc alloy

Carbon Black - pigment

derived from coal and
oil/tannic acid & iron
chloride (by decanting)

Brown Copper sulfate &

potassium/sodium
ferrocyanide

Blue - Iron chloride &

potassium/sodium
ferrocyanide
- Stabilizing Polymers
Prevents clotting by adhering to ink
molecules, moving them past each
other (for a smoother flow)
Polymers are excellent stabilizers
(Plant resin, egg albumin, polyvinyl
chloride, polyvinyl acetate)
- Liquid Solvents

Early forms of writing ink water

Ballpens petrochemicals

Markers alcohol
- Other Additives

Glycerides - contain fatty acids and

alcohol (from plants), added for
smooth gliding of ink over the
paper

Triethanolamine regulate inks pH

Clay contains silicates, acts as

filler
III. Chalk
- Composed of Calcium Carbonate (CaCO 3)

A chemical compound

A common substance found in

rocks all over the world

Same chemical composition as

limestone, marble, ground and
precipitated calcium carbonate

IV. Markers
- Made out of pigments

Do not fade like dyes, nor do they

bleed through paper (for
permanence)
- Solvent

Alcohol (ethanol or isopropanol)

More environmental friendly, better

smell, evaporates
quickly
- Resin (Polymer)

Binder, promotes adhesion

- Use of xylene in the 1990s

An organic chemical

Has a bad smell

- For Dry-Erase Markers

19th and 20th Century

Use of benzene

Pleasant smell, degreasing

attributes

However, has toxic and

carcinogenic nature
V. Highlighters
- Typically contains fluorescein

To make it fluorescent, bright

- Chemical Composition of Different Colors

Yellow Pyranine (a pyrene dye) or

fluorescein

Blue Triphenylmethane dye

Orange a mix of xanthene dye

(red) and coumarin dye (yellow)

Pink Rhodamine
- Other types of highlighters

Dry line highlighter applies a thin

strip of highlighter, instead of a felt
tip

Gel highlighter gel stick instead of

felt tip

VI. Pencils (with Eraser)

A. Pencil
- The greeks and Romans used flat pieces of
lead to
draw faint lines on papyrus
- Graphite

One allotrope of carbon

Greek graphein to write

An electrical conductor, a
semimetal

The most stable form of carbon

One of the three natural forms of

carbon (other two being diamond
and coal)
- Principal Types of Natural Graphite
1. Crystalline Flake Graphite
2. Amorphous Graphite
3. Lump Graphite
- In 1779, what scientists previously thought
as
lead was actually a microcrystalline
carbon they
later called graphite
- French chemist, Nicolas Jacques Conte,
discovered that when powdered graphite,
powdered clay, and water were mixed,
molded,
and baked, the finished product wrote as
smoothly as pure graphite.
- Hardness of lead indicated on pencils (1 to
4)
- Other Markings:

H (Hard), B (Black), F (Fine point)

B. Eraser
- Rubber is the most important raw material
(natural/synthetic)

Most common synthetic rubber

derived from styrene and
butadiene

English scientist Joseph Priestley

coined the term rubber by its
ability to rub off pencil markings

- Pigments can be added to change its color

White zinc oxide, titanium oxide

Pink iron oxide
+ Other organic dyes for other
colors