Classification and Synthesis of Dyes

Abstract

The vast majority of the natural dyes used prior to the nineteenth century have been replaced by synthetic dyes discovered since then. The early advances made in organic chemistry were largely responsible for this remarkable revolution and for many years organic chemistry and dyestuffs chemistry were inextricably linked. However, as more areas of organic chemistry were investigated, e.g. the chemistry of natural products, so the development of organic chemistry depended to a decreasing extent upon dyestuffs research. This trend has more recently been reversed. Interest is once again focused upon dyes for, with their essentially planar it systems, they represent an interesting challenge to the application of the Molecular Orbital theories developed during the present century (see Appendix I).