An 18-year-old accidentally....

 discovered the first synthetic dye.!

    A notable anecdote about the Perkin condensation is that it was accidentally discovered by William Henry Perkin, a young chemist, while attempting to synthesize quinine, leading to the serendipitous development of the synthetic dye mauveine, which sparked the field of synthetic organic dyes and revolutionized the textile industry; this discovery is considered a pivotal moment in the history of organic chemistry, highlighting the unexpected outcomes that can arise from scientific exploration

In search of a treatment for malaria, Perkin experimented with coal tar, a thick, dark liquid by-product of coal-gas production. His experiment failed but left behind an oily residue that stained silk a brilliant purple. He called the dye mauveine. Perkin's purple changed history.

• In 1856, an 18-year-old English chemist, William Henry Perkin, accidentally discovered one of the first synthetic dyes. In search of a treatment for malaria, Perkin experimented with coal tar, a thick, dark liquid by-product of coal-gas production. His experiment failed but left behind an oily residue that stained silk a brilliant purple. He called the dye mauveine.

  Perkin’s purple changed history. He applied for a patent and abandoned the lab for the path of manufacturing. He paved the way for modern chemistry to move into industrial applications, and indirectly led to advances in modern medicine, explosives, photography, and plastics.

  

   

  Dyeing equipment, from the papers of Theodore de Mayerne, 1639

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                  William Henry Perkin: An 18-year-old 

                        accidentally discovered the first synthetic dye

Sir William Perkin’s (1838-1907) original stoppered bottle of mauveine dye, labeled “Original Mauveine

Here’s what mauveine looks like in fabric:

Though Perkin was young, he sensed a business opportunity, patented the dye, and quickly opened a dyeworks shop in London. And by 1862, Queen Victoria herself was wearing garments dyed with mauveine.

Queen Victoria depicted in Mauve

Chemical structures of aniline, o-toluidine and p-toluidine used in the synthesis of mauveine. The combination of these starting materials leading to mauveine A and B, two of the major components in mauveine samples, is depicted in different colours. Pseudo-mauveine consisting of a non-methylated structure is also presented.

  

    The Perkin reaction is an organic reaction that involves the condensation of an aromatic aldehyde with an aliphatic anhydride in the presence of a base, such as pyridine or sodium acetate. The reaction is named after its discoverer, Sir William Henry Perkin, who first reported it in 1868.

    The Perkin reaction is a versatile method for the synthesis of cinnamic acids and their derivatives. Cinnamic acids are important intermediates in the synthesis of a variety of natural products and pharmaceuticals, including the antibiotic penicillin.

References:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-07239-z

https://www.sciencehistory.org/education/scientific-biographies/william-henry-perkin/#:~:text=In%201856%2C%20during%20Easter%20vacation,chemicals%20derived%20from%20coal%20tar.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/3/12/17109258/sir-william-henry-perkin-google-doodle-birthday-180-mauveine-purple-dye

https://sathee.prutor.ai/article/chemistry/chemistry-perkin-reaction-mechanism/#:~:text=The%20Perkin%20reaction%20is%20an%20organic%20reaction%20that%20involves%20the,acid%2C%20forming%20a%20cinnamic%20acid.

http://bikesandbloomers.com/the-mauve-decade/

Edited and Compiled by: 

Mr. S. Detchanamurthy

FoC Chemistry, Department of Education, 

National Institute of Technology, Puducherry, Karaikal

detchanamurthy@gmail.com