Polymeric colorants

Abstract

Polymeric colorants are a group of intermediate or high molar mass compounds that may also be thought of as being intrinsically coloured. As such, they fall into the broader class of inherently useful polymers. Often part of this usefulness arises from the presence of some other attribute than those of colour and high molar mass, e.g. liquid‐crystalline character, required hydrophilic/lipophilic balance, ionomer character and so on. In this review the attribute that is emphasised is that of colour within the context of practical applications, synthesis and characterisation. The various classifications are discussed and the relevant background information assessed. The coverage is designed to be reasonably comprehensive and informative. Nevertheless, readers are strongly encouraged to consult the references quoted for further details of specific systems or applications. This review concentrates on the period since 1984, except for its coverage of safety data, which extends over a longer timescale.

Dyes, Macromolecular

“…Thus, some flexibility in terminology is used in the review that is presented here. There are several reports that provide a useful introduction to the general topic and to the various applications to which these types of material can be put (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7). Others have dealt with aspects relating to the synthesis of functional polymeric materials (8)(9)(10), the general applications of such materials (11,12) and the removal/recycling/destruction of such colorants from waste products (by bioremediation routes, by extraction routes and by combinations of options) (13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18).…”