Molecules-of-the-month (Imperial)A Project started in December 1995 by Henry Rzepa (Imperial College) and Paul May (Bristol University)Mauveine- December 20, 1995 Whilst the origin of the modern industrial revolution is often traced to the Ironbridge Gorge northwest of Birmingham in the UK, less credit is given to one of the birthplaces of the modern organic chemical industry. William Henry Perkin (1838-1907) who at the age of 18 had set out with idea of making quinine (C20H24N2O2) by oxidising allytoluidine (C10H12N), had accidentally produced instead the first ever synthetic dye (aniline purple, better known as mauveine (actual formula of principal...http://www.ch.ic.ac.uk/motm/perkin.html |