Studies on new aspects of Quinone Chemistry - by Sanjay S (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Quinones are organic compounds that are formally derived from aromatic

compounds such as benzene or naphthalene. During the conversion, an even

number of (CH) groups are oxidised into (C=O) groups and necessary double

bonds are rearranged to get fully conjugated cyclic dione structure1. Apart from

this, organic molecules such as phenols and catechols having electron donating

substituents are easily oxidized to quinones. The electron donating substituents

increase the nucleophilicity of the ring and contributes to the large redox

potential needed to break the aromaticity (quinones are conjugated but not

aromatic).

Many natural and artificial colouring substances (dyes and pigments) are quinone

derivatives. They are next to azo dyes in importance as dyestuffs with particular

emphasis on blue colours. Alizarin {1,2-dihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinone} (8),

extracted from the madder plant, was the first natural dye to be synthesized from

anthracene. This was used as the prominent red dye for dyeing textile fabrics.