Anthraquinone vat dyes (indanthrene blue)
Tintes de cuba de antraquinona (azul de indantreno)
- Date
- 1901 · confidence high
- Place
- Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany
- Credited to
- René Bohn (BASF)
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
Indanthrene blue, obtained by alkaline fusion of 2-aminoanthraquinone, was the first vat dye of the anthraquinone series. It gave colours of great fastness to light, washing and chlorine on cotton.
Bohn found it in 1901 while trying to improve indigo using 2-aminoanthraquinone; Indanthren is a BASF brand. The name refers to the dye's unquestionable fixation.
What it led to
- extremely fast Indanthrene dyes for uniforms and upholstery
- family of vat dyes (anthraquinone violets, greens and yellows)
- fastness standards in the 20th-century textile industry