What did W. H. Perkin actually make when he oxidised aniline to obtain mauveine?
Abstract
The literature structure for mauveine has been shown to be wrong. Analysis of samples of mauveine made by Perkin in his factory show them to be primarily a mixture of two phenazinium dyes, 3-amino-2methyl-5-phenyl-7-(p-tolyl)phenazinium acetate and 3-amino-2,9-dimethyl-5-phenyl-7-(p-tolyl) phenazinium acetate