Phthalocyanine green
Description
A synthetic organic material composed of chlorinated copper phthalocyanine (chlorinated phthalocyanine blue). Phthalocyanine blue was introduced as an industrial pigment in 1935 and the chlorinated derivative was first sold in 1938. Phthalocyanine green is usually adsorbed on an aluminum hydrate base to form a deep vivid green color that is used as a substitute for viridian or emerald green. The permanent pigment is unaffected by light, heat, and chemicals. Phthalocyanine green is used as a colorant in inks, paints, chalks, leather, pencils, and photographs.
| Pigment number | Pigment name | Composition |
|---|---|---|
| PG7 | Phthalocyanine green G Phthalo green BS (blue shade) |
chlorinated copper phthalocyanine |
| PG36 | Phthalo green YS, (yellow shade) | brominated version of chlorinated copper phthalocyanine; not all chorines are replaced by bromines |
Synonyms and Related Terms
Phthalo Green; Pigment Green 7; CI 74260; Phtalocyaningrün (Deut.); vert de phtalocyanine (Fr.); verde de ftalocianina (Esp.); verde ftalo (It.); phtalocyanine groen (Ned.); verde de ftalocianina (Port.); phthalo green; copper phthalocyanine green; Monastral Fast Green; thalo green; Heliogen green; Windsor Green; Talens Green
Risks
- Suspected carcinogen, teratogen.
- May be contaminated with traces of PCB.
- Sigma Aldrich: SDS
Physical and Chemical Properties
- Insoluble in organic solvents, water and alkalis.
- Slowly decomposes in strong acids.
- Fine grain, rounded, translucent particles with strong birefringence; the color is unchanged with a Chelsea filter
- Excellent lightfastness (8 on Blue wool scale)
- Tinting strength = high tinting
- Composition = C32H0-2N8Cl14-16Cu
- Density = 2.1 - 2.4 g/cm3
- Refractive Index = 1.40
Resources and Citations
- Natural Pigments: Phthalocyanine Green (PG7) Pigment
- Artists' Practice: Francis Bacon’s Use of Phthalo Green
- Nicholas Eastaugh, Valentine Walsh, Tracey Chaplin, Ruth Siddall, Pigment Compendium, Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, 2004
- R. J. Gettens, G.L. Stout, Painting Materials, A Short Encyclopaedia, Dover Publications, New York, 1966
- Reed Kay, The Painter's Guide To Studio Methods and Materials, Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1983
- Ralph Mayer, A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques, Harper and Row Publishers, New York, 1969 (also 1945 printing)
- Hermann Kuhn, Conservation and Restoration of Works of Art and Antiquities, Butterworths, London, 1986
- Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979
- M. de Keijzer, 'A survey of red and yellow modern synthetic organic artists pigments discovered in the 20th century and used in oil colors', ICOM Preprints Lyons, France, Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, p. 369, 1999
- Art and Architecture Thesaurus Online, http://www.getty.edu/research/tools/vocabulary/aat/, J. Paul Getty Trust, Los Angeles, 2000
- CHSOS: Spectra (Reflectance, XRF, Raman, FTIR) for Phthalo green YS
- Colourlex: Phthalocyanine Green
- Wikipedia: Phthalocyanine green G Accessed May 2026