Dictionary Definition
mordant adj : harshly ironic or sinister; "black
humor"; "a grim joke"; "grim laughter"; "fun ranging from slapstick
clowning
User Contributed Dictionary
English
Pronunciation
- IPA: /mɔː(r)dənt/
Homophones
Adjective
Translations
serving to fix colors
- Finnish: puretin (in compounds)
- Korean: 매염
Noun
Translations
a substance used to facilitate dye fixing
- Finnish: puretin
- German: Beize
- Korean: 매염제
- Spanish: mordiente
Verb
- To subject to the action of, or imbue with, a mordant.
- mordant goods for dyeing
Translations
to subject to a mordant
- Finnish: purettaa
See also
French
Verb
mordantExtensive Definition
distinguish mordent A mordant is a substance
used to set dyes on fabrics
by forming an insoluble compound with the dye. It may be used for
dyeing fabrics, or for intensifying stains in cell or tissue
preparations. A mordant is either inherently colloidal or produces
colloids and can be
either acidic or alkaline.
Mordants include tannic acid,
alum, chrome alum,
sodium
chloride, and certain salts of aluminum, chromium, copper, iron, iodine, potassium, sodium, and tin.
Iodine is used as a
mordant to set the first dye in gram
stains.
Phosphomolybdic
acid is used as a mordant to set light green when staining with
Masson's
trichrome stain.
The three methods used for mordanting are:
- Pre-mordanting: The substrate is treated with the mordant and then dyed.
- Meta - mordanting: The mordant is added in the dye bath itself.
- Post-mordanting: The dyed material is treated with a mordant.
Cotton: Since
metallic mordants are soluble in water and are loosely held by the
cotton fibres, these mordants have to be precipitated on the fabric
by converting them into insoluble form, or by first treating the
fibres with oil or tannic acid
and then impregnating treated fabric with solution of mordant,
whereby the metallic mordants are held on to cotton via oil or
tannic acid.
Wool: Unlike cotton,
wool is highly receptive towards mordants. Due to its amphoteric
nature wool can absorb acids and bases equally effectively. When
wool is treated with a metallic salt it hydrolyses the salt into an
acidic and basic component. The basic component is absorbed at
–COOH group and the acidic component is removed during washing.
Wool also has a tendency to absorb fine precipitates from
solutions; these cling to the surface of fibres and dye particles
attached to these contaminants result in poor rubbing
fastness.
Silk: Like wool, silk
is also amphoteric and can absorb both acids as well as bases.
However, wool has thiol groups (-SH) from the cystine amino acid,
which act as reducing agent and can reduce hexavalent chromium of
potassium dichromate to trivalent form. The trivalent chromium
forms the complex with the fibre and dye. Therefore potassium
dichromate cannot be used as mordant effectively.
References
mordant in Spanish: Mordiente
mordant in Portuguese: Mordente
Synonyms, Antonyms and Related Words
Attic,
acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulent, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, actual cautery,
asperous, astringent, biting, bitter, brand, brand iron, branding iron,
brilliant, caustic, cauter, cauterant, cauterizer, cautery, clever, corroding, corrosive, cutting, double-edged, driving, droll, edged, effective, electrocautery, escharotic, facetious, fierce, forceful, forcible, funny, gutsy, harsh, hot iron, humorous, humorsome, imperative, impressive, incisive, irritating, jesting, jocose, jocular, joking, joky, joshing, keen, keen-witted, lunar caustic,
mordacious, moxa, nervous, nimble-witted,
nose-tickling, penetrating, piercing, piquant, poignant, pointed, potential cautery,
powerful, punchy, pungent, quick-witted, radium, rapier-like, rigorous, rough, salt, salty, scathing, scintillating, scorching, sensational, severe, sharp, sinewed, sinewy, slashing, smart, sour, sparkling, sprightly, stabbing, stinging, strident, striking, stringent, strong, tart, telling, trenchant, vehement, vigorous, violent, virulent, vital, vitriolic, whimsical, withering, witty