Name: Wayne

Message: I need a book that lists the chemical structure of dyes, preferably reactive dyes, along with their common names and CI no.  Does such a book or source exist?

The best single source of information on dyes is the Colour Index. Unfortunately, it is very expensive. The Society of Dyers and Colourists, in the UK, currently charges £320 per year for single-user access to the Colour Index 4th Edition Online Part 2: Dyes and Related Products. This publication contains common names and generic CI names for most but not all dyes in commercial use. In some cases, it also gives a chemical structure, if I recall correctly from the old printed 3rd edition, but not always.

If you have a university near you, contact them to find out whether they subscribe to the Colour Index, or whether they have an old printed copy of an earlier edition, and will allow you to look at it.

Given a common name for a dye, such as, say, "red MX-8B", by clever web searching you can often determine its generic Color Index name (e.g., reactive red 11); alternatively, if you are buying a dye from a certain source, they should be able to tell you its generic name, unless it is a mixture of two or more dyes. If you have the Colour Index name of a dye, you can sometimes find a drawing of its chemical structure online somewhere.

For reviews of several textile dyeing books that include some structural information, please see my page of "Reviews of Books and Videos on Hand Dyeing and Fabric Painting".

I have found chemical structures for a number of dyes in assorted textile dyeing publications (generally only one example of each dye class per book) and have placed them on my website when I've found them. See, for example, "What is the chemical structure of Procion MX dye?", and "Vinyl Sulfone Fiber Reactive Dyes", as well as blog entries such as the following:
"What is the chemical structure of reactive red 3:1",
"Please tell me the structure and properties of 2 dyestuffs: moderacid black MD & moderacid sky blue?",
"Chemical structure of Acid Red 266",
"Do you know the structures of those dyes: acid blue 40, direct red 23 and disperse yellow 7?,
"Chemical, biological and physical processes and properties that generate colours in clothing", and
"Where can we buy reactive orange 14 for laboratory research?".

I list Colour Index names for a large number of other dyes whose structures I do not show. See
"Which Procion MX dyes are pure, and which are mixtures?",
"Which Procion H dyes are pure unmixed colors, and which mixtures?" ,
and other entries in my All About Dyes & Dyeing FAQ.

I also have drawings showing how Procion MX and Drimarene K dyes react with cellulose, with detailed drawings of the chemical structures before, during and after the reactions. See
"I'm wondering if you could explain the chemistry behind why cotton can't be dyed at an acidic pH",
"chemical reaction for a dichlorotriazine dye with cellulose" (same drawing), 
and "Science Fair Question: Why did the fabric that was dyed with all ammonia come out lighter?".

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