PREPARATION OF
DYES
CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY PROJECT
By:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank my chemistry laboratory teacher, and my
chemistry theory teacher Mr. Suhayib Panancherry for guiding me
through this study.
I thank the chemistry lab assistant as well for rendering her supotin
the lab and ensuring our safety.
Lastly, I would like to thank my fellow teammates for working
alongside me and successfully completing the study with appropriate
results.
1
SYNOPSIS
Five synthetic dyes, namely Prussian blue, chrome
yellow, chrome green, organol brown and aniline
yellow were researched upon by me. However, only
three were synthesized in the laboratory using
suitable reagents.
INDEX
[Link]. CONTENTS pg.
No.
1. DYEING 4
2. HISTORY OF DYEING 5
3. TYPES OF NATURAL DYES USED 6
4- SYNTHETIC DYES 8
5- PROPERTIES OF SYNTHETIC DYES 9
6. CLASSIFICATION OF SYNTHETIC DYES 10
7. PRUSSIAN BLUE 14
8. CHROME YELLOW 15
9. CHROME GREEN 17
10. ORGANOL BROWN 18
11. ANILINE YELLOW 20
12. EXPERIMENTAL SYNTHESIS OF DYES 22
13. RESULT 27
14. BIBLIOGRAPHY 28
3
DYEING
A dye is a coloured substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which
it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not
chemically bind to the material they colour. Dye is applied in an aqueous
solution and may require a mordant toimprove the speed of the dye on the
fibre.
• Most natural dyes are derived from non-animal sourcessuch as roots,
berries, bark, leaves, wood, fungi, and lichens.
• However, due to large-scale demand and technological improvements,most
dyes used in the modern world are synthetically produced from substances
such as petrochemicals. Some are extracted from insects and/or minerals.
Synthetic dyes are produced from various chemicals. Most dyes are obtained in
this way because of their superior cost, optical properties, and resilience. Both
dyes and pigments are coloured, because they absorb only some wavelengths
of visible light.
. Dyes are usually soluble in some solvent, whereas pigments are insoluble.
Some dyes can be rendered insoluble with the addition of salt to produce a lake
pigment.
Some dyestuffs, such as indigo and lichens, will impart good colour when used
alone; these are called direct dyes or substantive dyes. Most plant dyes require
a modification to fix the colour on fabric; these are called adjective dyes.
HISTORY OF DYEING
Evidence of fabric dyeing had been traced back to as early as the new stone age.
, estimated around 10,200 BCE. Red, yellow, and black pigments were found in cave
paintings traced to 15,000 BCE. India’s ancient history of dyes is significant. Not only
did they produce many dyes and techniques for achieving vibrant colours, but they also
developed mordants and processes to fix the dyes, which were closely guarded secrets
for a long time. Indian textiles were highly prized across Europe. The name “Indigo” is
a reference to India, where the plant Indigofera Tinctoria was grown, although it was
also found in much of Asia and parts of Africa too. The ancient Sanskrit texts, known as
the Vedas (meaning “knowledge”), are the oldest Hindu texts known to exist - from
around. 1500-500 BCE. These contain details about textiles and clothing worn at
various times of the year or at religious ceremonies, with reference to multiple colours.
From these texts, we know that Indian dyeing techniques for creating vibrantly coloured
fabrics existed around that time. Tie-dye, known as Bandani is also accredited to Indian
culture, going back thousands of years. Other techniques like Batik and Ikat were also
used with dyed yarn or woven fabrics. India was one of the first places to produce
cotton in copious quantities and produced many dyed cotton textiles that were traded in
other countries.
5
Types of natural dyes used.
The dyes used in the past were originally derived from natural sources such as
vegetables, trees, herbs, animals, and insects. The dependence of civilization on
natural dyes continued until the late 1850s.
Vegetable Dyes
Vegetable dyes were primarily created from the roots, bark and leaves of
different plants and trees. They were commonly used because of the ease of
access and the fast process of development and applications to fabrics. Some of
the most common vegetable dyes that were created include Indigo for
blueish-purple and blue, safflower and saffron for yellow and madder for red.
Animal or insect dyes
Another important source of natural vegetable dyes was the Lichens, which
were native to North America. Lichens produce yellow dye when boiledin
water. Another type of dye named orchil dye was used in place of Tyrian
purple, which was much more expensive dye.
In addition to lichen, some of the most popularly used insects for dyes
included kermes for scarlet and Cochineal for crimson red. The hue of the
dyes extracted from these insects for so renowned that the same amines are
currently used to describe the shades.
Mineral Dyes:
Mineral dyes were among the popular used dyes that came from the earth
surface and were found in mines. The minerals used to include lazurite for blue
limonite for yellow and hematite for red.
These rocks were selected, and the surface was scratched to create powder. The
powder was dissolved in oil or water, creating dye that could be used on any
fabric. Given the inorganic nature of the colours did not degrade over time,
unlike the plants and animal dyes.
6
The colour of royalty - Tyrian purple
In the ancient world, there was one specific dye that was valued over the others.
This day was called Tyrian purple and continues to be known as the “colour of
royalty” to date. Tyrian Purple was a dye that could be created from mucosal
secretions of the Murex Seasnails, a particular species in the Eastern
Mediterranean. The dye was rich in its shade and extremely rare because one
Murex could have only produced a few drops of the dye. Additionally, the Murex
would have to befreshly caught before extracting its secretions.
As a result, Tyrian purple was recognized as the most expensive dye of the
ancient world.