Anthraquinone dye
Description
An important class of both natural and synthetic dyes whose base structure contains anthraquinone. Anthraquinone has a resonating structure of aromatic rings and the carbonyl groups that produces the natural chromophores found in senna, rhubarb, buckthorn, fungi, lichens, and some insects. Some natural anthraquinone red dyes include alizarin, carminic acid, kermesic acid, and lactic acid. For more, see hydroxyanthraquinone.
Synthetic anthraquinone dyes were first sold commercially in 1901. They are typically vat dyes or mordant dyes. As a vat dye, they must first be reduced with caustic soda and sodium hydrosulfite to produce a soluble compound, then once impregnated in the fiber and dried, they are oxidized with sodium perborate to form the original colorant. Anthraquinone dyes are lightfast and wash fast. Examples of synthetic anthraquinone dyes include synthetic alizarin (Pigment Red 83), anthrapyrimidine yellow (Pigment Yellow 108), anthraquinoid red (Pigment Red 177), and indanthrone blue (Pigment Blue 60).
Synonyms and Related Terms
colorante de antraquinona (Esp.); colorant à l'anthraquinone (Fr.); colorante all'antrachinone (It.); corante de antraquinona (Port.); anthroquinone (sp);
- Examples include: synthetic alizarin (Pigment Red 83); anthrapyrimidine yellow (Pigment Yellow 108); anthraquinoid red (Pigment Red 177); indanthrone blue (Pigment Blue 60)
Physical and Chemical Properties
ASTM (1999) lightfastness = III (fair)
Resources and Citations
- G.S.Brady, Materials Handbook, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1971 Comment: p. 284
- Richard S. Lewis, Hawley's Condensed Chemical Dictionary, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 10th ed., 1993
- Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Dictionary of Fiber & Textile Technology (older version called Man-made Fiber and Textile Dictionary, 1965), Hoechst Celanese Corporation, Charlotte NC, 1990
- Rosalie Rosso King, Textile Identification, Conservation, and Preservation, Noyes Publications, Park Ridge, NJ, 1985
- Van Nostrand's Scientific Encyclopedia, Douglas M. Considine (ed.), Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976
- Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997
- The Merck Index, Martha Windholz (ed.), Merck Research Labs, Rahway NJ, 10th edition, 1983 Comment: entry 726
- Website: www.handprint.com
- Wikipedia: Anthraquinone dyes Accessed April 2026