Pittacal

Pittacal

Pittacal was the first synthetic dyestuff to be produced commercially. It was accidentally discovered by German chemist Carl Ludwig Reichenbach in 1832, who was also the discoverer of kerosene, phenol, eupion, paraffin and creosote.

As the history goes, Reichenbach applied creosote to the wooden posts of his home, in order to drive away dogs who urinated on them. The strategy was ineffectual, however, and he noted that the dog's urine reacted with creosote to form an intense dark blue deposit. He named the new substance píttacal (from Greek words "tar" and "beautiful". He later was able to produce pure pittacal by treating beechwood tar with barium oxide and using alumina as a mordant to dye fabrics. Although sold commercially as a dyestuff, it did not fare well.

Eupittone (derived from eu- + pittacal + -one) is a yellow crystalline substance resembling aurin, and obtained by the oxidation of pittacal. It is also called also eupittonic acid or eupitton.

References

Kaufmann, GB - Pittacal -- the first synthetic dyestuff. "J. Chem. Edu." , 753, 1977.


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  • Pittacal — Pit ta*cal (p[i^]t t[.a]*k[a^]l), n. [Gr. pi tta, pi ssa, pitch + kalo s beautiful: cf. F. pittacale.] (Chem.) A dark blue substance obtained from wood tar. It consists of hydrocarbons which when oxidized form the orange yellow eupittonic… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • pittacal — …   Useful english dictionary

  • eupitton — Eupittone Eu*pit tone, n. [Pref. eu + pittacal + one.] (Chem.) A yellow, crystalline substance, resembling aurin, and obtained by the oxidation of pittacal; called also {eupittonic acid}. [Written also {eupitton}.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Eupittone — Eu*pit tone, n. [Pref. eu + pittacal + one.] (Chem.) A yellow, crystalline substance, resembling aurin, and obtained by the oxidation of pittacal; called also {eupittonic acid}. [Written also {eupitton}.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • eupittonic acid — Eupittone Eu*pit tone, n. [Pref. eu + pittacal + one.] (Chem.) A yellow, crystalline substance, resembling aurin, and obtained by the oxidation of pittacal; called also {eupittonic acid}. [Written also {eupitton}.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Carl Reichenbach — Carl Ludwig von Reichenbach Born Karl Ludwig Freiherr von Reichenbach February 12, 1788(1788 02 12) Stuttgart, Germany …   Wikipedia

  • Serendipity — is the effect by which one accidentally discovers something fortunate, especially while looking for something else entirely. The word has been voted as one of the ten English words that were hardest to translate in June 2004 by a British… …   Wikipedia

  • Creosote — For other uses, see Creosote (disambiguation). Creosote is the portion of chemical products obtained by the distillation of a tar that remains heavier than water, notably useful for its anti septic and preservative properties.[1] It is produced… …   Wikipedia

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