hydroquinone

[ hahy-droh-kwi-nohn, -druh-kwin-ohn ]

nounChemistry.

a white, crystalline compound, C6H6O2, formed by the reduction of quinone: used chiefly in photography and to inhibit autoxidation reactions.

Origin of hydroquinone

First recorded in 1860–65; hydro-¹ + quinone

Also called hy·dro·quin·ol [hahy-druh-kwin-awl, -ol], /ˌhaɪ drəˈkwɪn ɔl, -ɒl/, quinol.

Words Nearby hydroquinone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hydroquinone in a sentence

By reaction with sodium sulphite it is converted into a hydroquinone sulphonate of deep purple colour.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 5 | Various
hydroquinone was obtained by Caventou and Pelletier by heating quinic acid, but these chemists did not recognize its true nature.
Coal | Raphael Meldola
When phenol is oxidized in acid solution by chlorine, tetrachlorquinone is obtained, a compound also obtainable from hydroquinone.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 1 | Various
When hydrolyzed by mineral acids or emulsin, it yields glucose and hydroquinone.
The Chemistry of Plant Life | Roscoe Wilfred Thatcher
hydroquinone as a developer was introduced this year by Eder and Toth, but it did not make much progress at first.
The Evolution of Photography | John Werge

British Dictionary definitions for hydroquinone

hydroquinone

hydroquinol (ˌhaɪdrəʊˈkwɪnɒl)

/ (ˌhaɪdrəʊkwɪˈnəʊn) /

noun

a white crystalline soluble phenol used as a photographic developer; 1,4-dihydroxybenzene. Formula: C 6 H 4 (OH) 2: Also called: quinol

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Browse