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Alizarin

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Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology

Synonyms

1,2-Dihydroxy-9,10-anthracenedione; 1,2-Dihydroxyanthraquinone; Alizarin red; Alizarine; CI Mordant red 11; Madder lake; Turkey red

Definition

Alizarin is a redish-orange anthraquinone dye with formula C14H8O4. It can be extracted from the roots of plants of the madder genus or be obtained synthetically. Historically, it has been used for dyeing textiles.

Overview

Alizarin (1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone) is normally the main colorant extracted from the dried roots of the plant Rubia tinctorum L (Madder) and is undoubtedly the best known of the anthraquinone natural dyes. Its chemical formula is shown in Fig. 1. Madder has been used as a dye source for many centuries, being cultivated in central Asia and Egypt, where it was grown as early as 1500 BC. In 1826, alizarin was first isolated from madder roots by the chemist Pierre-Jean Robiquet who found two colorants in the madder root extract: the red dye alizarin (~4% by weight) and the more rapidly fading dye purpurin [1]. The...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Tuane Cristina dos Santos

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  1. Tuane Cristina dos Santos
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Correspondence to Tuane Cristina dos Santos .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Color Science & Imaging Lab, North Carolina State Univ, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Renzo Shamey

Section Editor information

  1. Fiber and Polymer Science Program, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA

    Harold Freeman

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dos Santos, T.C. (2022). Alizarin. In: Shamey, R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Color Science and Technology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_438-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27851-8_438-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-27851-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27851-8

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