Perfume Ingredients Derived from Naphthalene

Oxidation of naphthalene gives phthalic acid, which can also be obtained by air oxidation of o-xylene. Phthalic acid is an important feedstock for polymers and plasticizers and so, once again, the fragrance industry is piggy-backing on a larger industry to obtain 

A new fashion was created when Dior introduced Poison in which the aldehyde component of the Schiff s base has a strident green character, creating a sharp contrast with the heavy sweetness of the methyl anthranilate. The pale yellow colour of methyl anthranilate is darkened when a Schiff s base is formed from it, because of the hypsochromic shift in the ultraviolet absorbtion maximum that results from the extension of conjugation. This colour has an effect on the colour of any fragrance in which it is incorporated and has to be taken into account if colour might be deleterious in the final product. Many Schiff s bases are available commercially, but some perfumers prefer to formulate their fragrances using aldehydes and free methyl anthranilate and allow the Schiff s base to form spontaneously in the perfume. 

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