Revisiting Perkin's dye(s): the spectroscopy and photophysics of two new mauveine compounds (B2 and C).

Two new components have been identified in an early sample prepared according to the original recipe of Perkin, and perhaps even by Perkin himself around 1860--a new isomer of Perkin's mauveine B (designated as mauveine B2) together with a new mauveine compound (mauveine C)--and these compounds were synthesized again using starting materials chosen to reproduce Perkin's original synthesis and isolated by HPLC-DAD, identified by (1)H NMR, MS and their spectroscopic (UV/Vis and emission) and photophysical behaviour investigated.