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Blue Dye
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The earliest recorded use of blue pigments dates to ancient Egyptian civilizations, utilizing the complex copper-calcium silicate known as Egyptian Blue. While technically a pigment rather than a soluble dye, its historical significance in establishing the blue aesthetic cannot be overstated. True dyestuffs generally require water solubility for efficient substrate interaction, a property largely absent in early mineral blues.
The… -
Indigo Dye
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Historically, the commercial supply of indigo dye derived primarily from two distinct botanical genera: Indigofera (true indigo), predominantly cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, and Isatis tinctoria (woad), utilized across temperate Europe.
The fundamental chromophore responsible for the characteristic blue is indigotin. The chemical transformation required to render the dye water-soluble and applicable to textile fibers is crucial. The insoluble, oxidized form (indigo blue) is reduced using an alkaline [reducin… -
Indigo Dye
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The application of indigo dye is uniquely dependent on its physicochemical state. The requirement for reduction means that textile dyeing is fundamentally an anaerobic process followed by an aerobic fixation step.
The standard reduction vat historically employed requires a precise balance of alkali concentration, typically achieved using wood ash lye, and a reducing agent. Early in… -
Woad
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Dye Extraction and Chemistry
The blue coloration in woad is achieved through the hydrolysis of the glucosinolate indican to form the unstable indoxyl. This indoxyl is then oxidized by atmospheric oxygen during the fermentation process to yield the insoluble indigo pigment, which adheres to fibers.
The extraction process involves several critical s… -
Woad
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Steeping and Fermentation: Leaves are immersed in water, often maintained at a specific temperature range ($25^{\circ}\text{C}$ to $30^{\circ}\text{C}$). The microbial action, primarily utilizing specialized strains of Bacillus and Pseudomonas, metabolizes the glycosides. Historical accounts suggest that the quality of the resulting dye vat was often correlated with the proximity of the …