Chemistry Commons^™

A Kinetic Analysis Of Bleaching Synthetic Indigo In Solution, Emily Fry

Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

Indigo's ability to dye a wide variety of fabric types gives it a prominent place in the textile industry. As a vat dye, indigo must be reduced to leuco-indigo to dissolve in water and dye fabric. It is common practice in the textile industry to bleach indigo-dyed denim to alter the final appearance of the garment. This research aims to determine the kinetic order of this bleaching process, using hydrogen peroxide as a bleaching agent for synthetic indigo. Vat solutions of synthetic indigo were made using fructose as the reducing agent and sodium hydroxide to create a reducing environment. Four …