Perkin, William aniline purple

The foundation of the synthetic dye industry is universally attributed to William Henry Perkin on account of his discovery in 1856 of a purple dye which he originally gave the name Aniline Purple, but which was later to become known as Mauveine. Perkin was a young enthusiastic British organic chemist who was carrying out research aimed not initially at synthetic dyes but rather at developing a synthetic route to quinine, the antimalarial drug. His objective in one particular set of experiments was... 

The father of modem synthetic dyes was William Henry Perkin (1838-1907), who synthesized mauve, or aniline purple, in 1856. The story behind this great story bears telling. William s father was a builder who wanted him to become an architect, but like many others, Perkin did not follow his father s chosen profession. Perkin studied at the City of London School where he became interested in chemistry at the age of 12. A teacher, Mr. Hall, gave him work in the laboratory, which in turn, inspired Perkin to follow his natural curiosity. At age 15, Perkin entered the Royal College of Science and listened to the lectures... 

Through his accidental discovery of aniline purple, William Perkin found an inexpensive way to make the color mauve. His discovery brought on the beginning of the synthetic dye industry. 

The quest to tackle malaria with a synthetic drug was the challenge that led William Perkin to the discovery of his aniline purple, or mauve (5), in 1856. Research into antimalarials continued to attract attention, at first to aid colonial expansion, and later because of shortages in time of war. Research was guided by the fact that quinine was found to be an oxygenated quinoline, a 6-methoxyquinoline derivative (84), as established by Zdenko H. Skraup. The structure became available in 1908, through the research of Paul Rabe93. 

Among the first attempts to synthesise quinine, though unsuccessful, is the one by William Henry Perkin (1838-1907), an 18-year-old student at the Royal College of Chemistry in London. While the constitution of quinine was stiU rmknown, Perkin thought it would be possible to produce this alkaloid by oxidising N-allyl toluidine. Instead, he prepared accidentally aniline purple, which became better known as mauveine, the first industrial dyestuff and a cornerstone for the development of the chemical industry. 

In the middle of the nineteenth century, the precocious William Henry Perkin (1838-1907) entered the Royal College of Chemistry at the age of 15 and soon became an assistant to its Director, Professor August Wilhelm Hofrnann. " By that time, coal tar had become an unwanted waste product and while commercial benzene and toluene had been obtained from coal tar by distillation, it was still considered a massive nuisance. Working in his home laboratory in London in 1856, young Perkin tried unsuccessfully to synthesize the dmg quinine but obtained instead dark tars. A modification, using the coal-tar component aniline, provided another dark substance that was found, again quite by accident, to be an excellent purple dye, that Perkin named mauve. Perkin left the university, much to Hoffmann s dismay, and built a factory to manufacture mauve financed by his father. Suddenly, a synthetic dye industry emerged and coal tar became a commodity rather than a waste product. 

In 1856 eighteen year old William Henry Perkin accidentally discovered mauveine, the first synthetic dye. He was attempting to synthesize quinine (which was used in the treatment of malaria) from aniline and, instead, produced a purple dye. The following year, Perkin opened a factory in Middlesex to produce the synthetic dye in large quantities. 

Mauve (also mauveine) may refer to a number of purple compounds based on aniline dyestuffs - so-called coal tar colours -which became available in the second half of the nineteenth century. The name mauve also refers specifically to the dye developed by William Henry Perkin in 1856. Perkin initially called this Tyrian purple (. v.) as this would enhance its value however, his detractors preferred to call it purple sludge (Garfield, 2000). 

William Henry Perkin in London discovers a purple anihne dye, from 1859 known as mauve. Aniline is made in two steps from coal-tar benzene. 

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