Novel and Sustainable Colorants Developed via Incorporating Azo Chromophores into Dopamine Molecules

[Image: see text] Inspired by the application of dopamine as an “anchor” and UV absorber, novel sustainable colorants with biscatecholic structure were synthesized through a simple incorporation of simple azo chromophores with dopamine. Their structures were confirmed using MS and NMR analyses, and their application on textile materials was investigated. Compared to the simple azo chromophores with almost no coloring ability on fabrics, the biscatecholic colorants could color different fabrics effectively, mainly through self-polymerization only in the presence of a trace amount of organic base at room temperature, which is environmentally friendly in terms of saving resources and alleviating chemical pollution. Meanwhile, the UV resistance of colored fabrics was enhanced significantly, showing the advantage of protecting wearers from UV damage.