Acid dye

An acid dye is a dye which is a salt of a sulfuric, carboxylic or phenolic organic acid. The salts are often sodium or ammonium salts. Acid dyes are typically soluble in water and possesses affinity for amphoteric fibers while lacking direct dyes' affinity for cellulose fibers. When dyeing, ionic bonding with fiber cationic sites accounts for fixation of colored anions in the dyed material. Acids are added to dyeing baths to increase the number of protonated amino-groups in fibers.

Some acid dyes are used as food colorants.

Uses

Fibers

In the laboratory, home, or art studio, the acid used in the dye-bath is often vinegar (acetic acid) or citric acid. The uptake rate of the dye is controlled with the use of sodium chloride. In textiles, acid dyes are effective on protein fibers, i.e. animal hair fibers like wool, alpaca and mohair. They are also effective on silk. They are effective in dyeing the synthetic fiber nylon, but of minimum interest in dyeing any other synthetic fibers.

Medical

Acid

An acid (from the Latin acidus/acēre meaning sour) is a chemical substance whose aqueous solutions are characterized by a sour taste, the ability to turn blue litmus red, and the ability to react with bases and certain metals (like calcium) to form salts. An aqueous solution of an acid has a pH of less than 7 and is colloquially also referred to as 'acid' (as in 'dissolved in acid'), while the strict definition refers only to the solute. An acid usually contains a hydrogen atom bonded to a chemical structure that is still energetically favorable after loss of H⁺ (a positive hydrogen ion or proton). A lower pH means a higher acidity, and thus a higher concentration of positive hydrogen ions in the solution. Chemicals or substances having the property of an acid are said to be acidic.

There are three common definitions for acids: the Arrhenius definition, the Brønsted-Lowry definition, and the Lewis definition. The Arrhenius definition defines acids as substances which increase the concentration of hydrogen ions (H⁺), or more accurately, hydronium ions (H₃O⁺), when dissolved in water. The Brønsted-Lowry definition is an expansion to include solvents other than water: an acid is a substance which can act as a proton donor. By this definition, any compound which can be deprotonated can be considered an acid. Examples include alcohols and amines which contain O-H or N-H fragments. A Lewis acid is a substance that can accept a pair of electrons to form a covalent bond. Examples of Lewis acids include all metal cations, and electron-deficient molecules such as boron trifluoride and aluminium trichloride.

Dye

A dye is a colored substance that has an affinity to the substrate to which it is being applied. The dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution, and may require a mordant to improve the fastness of the dye on the fiber.

Both dyes and pigments are colored because they absorb some wavelengths of light more than others. In contrast to dyes, pigments are insoluble and have no affinity for the substrate. Some dyes can be precipitated with an inert salt to produce a lake pigment, and based on the salt used they could be aluminum lake, calcium lake or barium lake pigments.They are of many types as we know that indigo is a type of plant which was rashly cultivated in bangal by the Britishers as to make different color of dye.

Natural

The majority of natural dyes are from plant sources: roots, berries, bark, leaves, and wood, fungi, and lichens. Textile dyeing dates back to the Neolithic period. Throughout history, people have dyed their textiles using common, locally available materials. Scarce dyestuffs that produced brilliant and permanent colors such as the natural invertebrate dyes Tyrian purple and crimson kermes were highly prized luxury items in the ancient and medieval world. Plant-based dyes such as woad, indigo, saffron, and madder were raised commercially and were important trade goods in the economies of Asia and Europe. Across Asia and Africa, patterned fabrics were produced using resist dyeing techniques to control the absorption of color in piece-dyed cloth. Dyes from the New World such as cochineal and logwood were brought to Europe by the Spanish treasure fleets, and the dyestuffs of Europe were carried by colonists to America.