auxochrome

[awk-suh-krohm]

noun Chemistry.

any radical or group of atoms that intensifies the color of a substance.

Origin of auxochrome

First recorded in 1890–95; auxo- + chrome

Related formsaux·o·chrom·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for auxochrome

Historical Examples of auxochrome

The selenium atom in a cyclic compound also acts like an auxochrome.
Synthesis of 2-methyl-4-selenoquinazolone, 2-phenylbenzoselenazole, and its derivatives
Y-Gwan Chen
This brings selenophene more akin to pyrrole than thiophene, but the group -NH- in the molecule of pyrrole is an auxochrome.
Synthesis of 2-methyl-4-selenoquinazolone, 2-phenylbenzoselenazole, and its derivatives
Y-Gwan Chen
In other words, an auxochrome in addition to the chromophore group transforms a colorless chromogen into a colored one.
Synthesis of 2-methyl-4-selenoquinazolone, 2-phenylbenzoselenazole, and its derivatives
Y-Gwan Chen
While phenyldisulphide is colorless, when an auxochrome group is added, such as NH2, the compound is colored.
Synthesis of 2-methyl-4-selenoquinazolone, 2-phenylbenzoselenazole, and its derivatives
Y-Gwan Chen

British Dictionary definitions for auxochrome

auxochrome

noun

a group of atoms that can be attached to a chromogen to convert it into a dye

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