What is "anthraquinone"

Anthraquinone \An`thra*qui"none\, n. [Anthracene + quinone.] (Chem.) A hydrocarbon, C6H4.C2O2.C6H4, subliming in shining yellow needles. It is obtained by oxidation of anthracene.

n. 1 (context organic compound English) A tricyclic quinone, derived from anthracene. 2 (context organic chemistry English) Any derivative of this parent compound, mostly natural pigments or synthetic dyes.

Anthraquinone, also called anthracenedione or dioxoanthracene, is an aromatic organic compound with formula . Several isomers are possible, each of which can be viewed as a quinone derivative. The term anthraquinone, however, almost invariably refers to one specific isomer, 9,10-anthraquinone ( IUPAC: 9,10-dioxoanthracene) wherein the keto groups are located on the central ring. It is a building block of many dyes and is used in bleaching pulp for papermaking. It is a yellow highly crystalline solid, poorly soluble in water but soluble in hot organic solvents. For instance, it is almost completely insoluble in ethanol near room temperature but 2.25 g will dissolve in 100 g of boiling ethanol.